chew the cud
Regurgitate and rechew
To chew the cud is what ruminant animals like cows do—regurgitating partially digested food to chew it again.
Figuratively, to chew the cud is to think something over slowly and thoroughly, turning it over in your mind: He sat on the porch chewing the cud, mulling over the offer.
The image suggests unhurried, ruminative reflection.
Think deeply about
- reflectReturn light or thought
- museThink deeply about
- ruminateThink deeply and repeatedly
- broodHatchlings as a group
contemplate · mull over · think over · deliberate · cogitate · meditate · dwell · consider
Prolonged, repetitive thinking
- cattleDomesticated bovines kept commercially
- cowFemale bovine
- grazeFeed on growing plants
- pastureGrazing ground for livestock
herd · livestock · dairy · munch · forage · meadow · grazing · calf
ponder
Think deeply about
brood · contemplate · mull over · think over · deliberate · cogitate · meditate · dwell · consider · introspect
rumination
Prolonged, repetitive thinking
pasture · herd · livestock · dairy · munch · forage · meadow · grazing · calf · barn
regurgitation
Ejecting swallowed material
- rumenFirst stomach of ruminants
- reticulumNet-shaped anatomical structure
- fermentationMicrobial sugar conversion
bolus · mastication · saliva · ruminant · herbivore · microbes · enzymes · fibre · foregut · abomasum
chew the cudjump to conclusions
Judge before full understanding
shoot from the hip · rush to judgment · snap judgment · think on one's feet · wing it
chew the cudspring into action
Begin acting immediately
hustle · bustle · get cracking · race against time · burn the candle at both ends