To bite off more than you can chew

A crocodile eats meat in a pond in San Manuel. Photo: Orlando Sierra/AFP

Today's Phrase

If you bite off more than you can chew, you try to do more than you are able to do.

For example:

I have bitten off more than I can chew by taking on this extra work – I don't think I'll get it finished on time.

David and Sarah planned to completely renovate their house by themselves. In the end, they bit off more than they could chew and had to pay builders to finish it.

Thanks for offering to babysit and cook dinner for us, but don't bite off more than you can chew.

Don't confuse it with

If you cry crocodile tears, you show fake sadness.

Louise is crying in the corner because she says the boss upset her – don't pay any attention to her, though – they're just crocodile tears.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/2012/10/121019_todays_phrase_bite_off_more_than_you_can_chew.shtml

Interesting fact

Each crocodile has 24 teeth in its powerful jaws, which are constantly replaced throughout its life. However, these teeth are designed to grab and crush prey, rather than chew it. The reptiles swallow stones, which grind up food in their stomachs.