shoot the breeze

A slang phrase, alluding to talking into the wind, it was first recorded in 1919. In the variant, first recorded in 1908, bull is used instead of breeze, and means "empty talk" or "lies."

• "We were just standing around shooting the breeze."
• "Oh, I've just been upstairs with your boss, shooting the breeze… shooting his fish."
• "Listen, I came here to do some business, not shoot the breeze. If you want to expound your personal philosophies, write another book."

• bat the breeze
• chew the fat
• shoot the shit
• shoot the bull
• talk about the weather

• chew the cud