Bite off more than you can chew means to take on more than you can manage. It happens when someone agrees to a task that is too big, or to several at once, and then realises they cannot cope. The literal picture of biting off more food than you can chew helps you remember the meaning. The idiom is informal: it fits IELTS Speaking, but in an essay take on too much works better.
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bite off more than + you/I/she + can/could chew; have bitten off more than + I/we + can chew
- I bit off more than I could chew when I agreed to organise the whole conference alone.
- Taking four courses while working full-time, Olga soon realised she had bitten off more than she could chew.
- Six cities in five days? I think we've bitten off more than we can chew with this trip.
What changed
First versionLast term I bit off more than you can chew and failed two exams.
RevisionLast term I bit off more than I could chew and failed two exams.
Dictionaries list the idiom with you, so it is easy to learn it as a fixed phrase. But the pronoun and the tense change to fit the sentence: I bit off more than I could chew, she has bitten off more than she can chew. Only you can was changed to I could.
Have a lot on your plate is also about being busy, but without any self-criticism: I have a lot on my plate this week simply means I have a lot to do. Bite off more than you can chew stresses that the person took on too much and overestimated what they could handle.
Your turn
Tom promised to paint the whole house on his own in one weekend, but by Sunday night he had finished only the kitchen: he had ___.
Show the answer
bitten off more than he could chew — Tom promised too much and did not manage it, so he overestimated himself: bitten off more than he could chew. Bitten the bullet would mean he finally made himself do something unpleasant, but here the task was simply too big for him.
Think of a time when you took on too much: at work, in your studies or on a trip. Write what you took on and how you realised you could not cope.
I bit off more than I could chew when I signed up for three online courses at once, and after a month I was behind in all of them.
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