Biting Off More Than One Can Chew

It seems to me that here in Japan, the food, if it is cut before serving, is always just a little bit larger than bite-size.

When I first came to Japan I thought the servings looked too small but after I while I found out that the serving sizes were just right, especially for one interested in staying healthy. I then began to wonder at the huge servings that I used to get in the United States and soon began to realize why there are so many overweight Americans. I was a little overweight myself.

Now, mostly due to the delicious and healthy cooking of my wife, I feel healthier than I have in ten years. Of course, I have started exercising, but before that, after almost two years on a low fat, low sugar, high fiber diet, I feel better than ever before. For two years I didn't catch a cold! Before my wife started cooking for me, when I was "cooking" for myself, I was sick all the time. It wasn't until I started visiting middle schools and elementary schools that I started catching colds again. So far, about once a month I have been catching a cold but I have been able to shake them off in less than a week. (It seems I always catch a cold after visiting one school in particular.)

Getting back to biting off more than one can chew, Japanese people, in particular, Japanese men, often take very large bites of food. Sushi (sticky rice eaten with raw fish) is prepared in "bite sizes" that are more than a mouthful. I usually eat them in two bites, which is not very easy because after you bite into one kan of sushi (they are counted by "kan") it crumbles. You really need to eat it in one bite. It is just so much of a mouthful for me.

As, the purpose of this Howdy English "blog" is to write on things in English related to Japan, the USA, international relations and from time to time, English, I will introduce a related expression that got me off on this tangent in the first place.

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Now, to introduce the English expresion: Bite off more than one can chew.

Let's look at the individual words:

• bite =(動詞） 噛む（かむ）
• bite off = かみ切る, 食い取る;
• more than = ～よりも、I have more apples than you. (私はあなたよりも多くりんごを持っている）
• one = 一なのですが,この場合は「一般的に人」または「あなた」
• chew = (動詞）〈食べ物を〉かむ
• can = できる

Biteのほうが噛み切るという意味で、chewは噛み切った食べ物を口の中でかむということ。

ではBiting off more than one can chewの意味は大体理解できますか。直訳すると「（口の中で）かむことさえ出来ないほど多くかみ切る。」という意味になります。これはそのままの意味でも使えますが、慣用としての意味は「手に余ること[大仕事]をもくろむ[に手を出す].」（『新和英中辞典 第4版』）。たとえば、

I think he's biting off more than he can chew with this project.
彼はこのプロジェクトで手に余ることをもくろんでいるのではないかと思います。
Don't bite off more than you can chew.
手に余ることをもくろまないほうが良いですよ。