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Today’s phrasal verb is chew out. When you chew someone out, it means you scold them strongly – usually because they did something wrong or made a big mistake. It’s a very informal, very American way to say “tell someone off.”
Like yesterday in the office, my manager chewed out the team because the report wasn’t finished on time.
And my friend Olivia got chewed out by her mom for coming home too late.
Even I got chewed out once – I forgot to reply to an important email, and the client was not happy.
Here’s a pronunciation tip: chew out sounds like choo-wout. The W sound in chew links with out.
So how about you? Has anyone ever chewed you out – or maybe you had to chew someone out?
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FAQ
Question: What does “chew out” mean?
Answer: Basically, “chew out” means to strongly scold someone.
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