chew the meat and spit out the bones
To take in a great deal of information and selectively disregard some of it as invalid or inapplicable.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Read the report, chew the meat and spit out the bones.”
“When you research this topic, you should chew the meat and spit out the bones to find the most useful facts.”
“The expert advised the students to chew the meat and spit out the bones while analyzing the outdated historical documents for relevant insights.”
- 01
bag of bones
A skinny, malnourished person or animal.
- 02
bite off more than one can chew
To try to do too much; to take on or attempt more than one is capable of doing.
- 03
chew off
To reprimand, to scold
- 04
chew on
To consider, to ponder.
- 05
chew the cud
To meditate or ponder before answering; to be deep in thought; to ruminate.
- 06
chew the scenery
To display excessive emotion or to act in an exaggerated manner while performing; to be melodramatic; to be flamboyant.
- 07
chew up
To ruin (especially land), by digging.
- 08
dead meat
Someone in danger of being killed or severely punished.
Last updated August 10, 2026