What it means
It means you've taken on more than you can actually handle, whether that's work, promises, or some giant life admin circus. You said yes with full hero energy, then reality turned up and now you're choking on the workload. People use it as a warning, a mild roast, or a weary confession when someone's clearly overcommitted.
Usage examples
"I said I'd run the school fête, cover Dave's shift, and fix Nan's laptop by Friday. Now I'm drowning, proper bit off more than I can chew."
"Renovating the whole house in a month, he had bitten off more than he could chew."
"Do not bite off more than you can chew, take on one project at a time."
"I told everyone I'd build the site, sort the budget, and DJ the launch party. Absolute clown behaviour, I bit off more than I could chew."
"She signed up for four extra shifts and a weekend course, then spent Thursday looking fully haunted. Bit off more than she could chew, bless her."
Where it comes from
This idiom's been knocking around in English since at least the late 1800s. It comes from a dead simple image: if you take too big a bite, you can't chew it properly. That everyday food struggle turned into a tidy way of saying someone took on more work, pressure, or responsibility than they can realistically handle.
