chew up and spit out

verb

To deal with (a person) harshly and abruptly.

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Meanings

verbchew up and spit out (third-person singular simple present chews up and spits out, present participle chewing up and spitting out, simple past and past participle chewed up and spat out or chewed up and spit out)

present singular third person chews up and spits out · participle present chewing up and spitting out · participle past chewed up and spat out · past chewed up and spat out · participle past chewed up and spit out · past chewed up and spit out

  1. transitiveTo deal with (a person) harshly and abruptly.

    […] all he could see was a huge gaping mouth of swirling, churning water ready to chew him up and spit him out.

    2015, Angie Caterson, The Polka Dots and the Greedy Venture: Book 6: Spirits of Australia
    1 more example

    They will chew you up and spit you out unless you come to the war fully prepared, armed and ready with the intentions of winning the war.

    2007, Jerry Walker, Get Up and Get Moving, page 36
Cite this entry
APA

chew up and spit out. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chew%20up%20and%20spit%20out

MLA

“chew up and spit out.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chew%20up%20and%20spit%20out. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “chew up and spit out,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chew%20up%20and%20spit%20out.

Source: chew up and spit out on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.