A Bit on Champing

Not mentioned in the summary of Season 4, Episode 2 of Billions, 'Arousal Template,' is Chuck's cave-in on using the phrase 'chomping at the bit' rather then the correct, but far less popular, "champing at the bit."

Chuck has obviously gone to schools we never heard of, wearing a blazer, white dress shirt and tie, when he says in the presence of his attorney friend and former law school classmate, Ira Schrimer, that "he's champing at the bit" to get into the race for the vacant New York Attorney General's seat. Ira corrects him that it's "chomping at the bit."

Quick to show off, Chuck quotes from the source of the phrase, lines in a poem that goes, "twelve beauteous steeds of golden color with golden manes champ at the bit..."

Not only is it a poem from 1810, it a religious poem, 'Joseph' from a Reverend Charles Lucas work. Chuck doesn't actually tell us all that, but he doesn't need to to convince us that not only did Chuck go to prep schools we never heard of, he listened.

Ira advises Chuck that the people of New York State want someone who sounds like they come from New York State, not William Safire. "Chomping at the bit" is they way to go.

There really is a difference of opinion if it is chomping vs. champing. The ruling comes down on the side of champing due to that action on a horse's gums by the bit, attached to the bridle, which of course is attached to the reins which allows the rider to tell the horse the direction to go.

Per the answer obtained from Google...

It's champing at the bit, not chomping at the bit. This phrase (or idiom) comes from the sport of kings: horse racing. A bit is part of the apparatus that goes in the horse's mouth and connects to the bridle and reins so the horse can be controlled and directed by the jockey on its back. ...

But since 'chomping at the bit' is what most people feel is the correct way to say it, Chuck, ever the crowd pleaser, gives give the crowd what it expects to hear, when he tells the assembled at a campaign rally at the San Gennaro Festival in Little Italy that he's simply "chomping at the bit...."

I have to say I've never given either champing vs. chomping much thought. I've always had trouble with "honing in on" vs. 'homing in on," firmly believing that "honing" was correct, despite not being able to quote from an 1810 poem, or any other source, likely because I went to public schools.

Turns out I might have been one of the very few who was insisting it was "honing." I've never read anyone refer to it as "honing in" and the dictionary supports "homing" by definition. Supposedly, some style books now allow for "honing." But I'll try to stick to "homing."

I must say, Chuck's bit (pun intended) on word choice has educated me as to the correct phrase to use vs. the more popular phrase. But since I'm not considering running for any political office, I'll be forever champing at the bit to say, "champing at the bit."

http://www.onofframp.blogspot.com