This expression was originally about sailors’ ropes which had become untied， or “loose”， and therefore were not being used properly.
3. 3. Have aA Chinwag
Let’s listen to the dialogue.
A： Hey Dan. Not seen you for a while.
B： I’m meeting Claire in 5five minutes， but are you busy next week？ Let’s have lunch.
B： Sure， we can have a bit of a chinwag. Tuesday？
A： Works for me.
B： See you Tuesday then.
Well， “have a chinwag” is a real British slang，. Cancan you guess what it means from the dialogue？ Maybe you are more familiar with the expression “have a chat”. If we break down the expression we have two words： “chin” and “wag”. “Chin” is your lower jaw and “wag” means to move from side to side， so I suppose “chinwag” describes the action of talking or chatting.
● 詞組“run off one’s feet”非常形象地形容了這樣的狀態——跑來跑去，連兩隻腳都好像不是自己的了。因此，“run off one’s feet”是指“有很多的事情要做，忙得不可開交”。需要特別注意的是，這個短語是作形容詞而不是動詞用的。例如：
（1） There’s only one secretary working for the whole accounts department and the poor woman is run off her feet.
（2） Are you run off your feet？ Get someone else to do stuff for you.
● 當你忙完所有的事情後，空閑下來，卻又不知道如何打發時間，這時候我們可使用短語“at a loose end”，它的產生可以追溯到十九世紀中期，原意是指繩索一端未係住的船隨波漂流，不知方向，現在用來比喻人，是“閑來無事”的意思，也可以用作“at loose ends”。例如：
（1）He was at a loose end when their long-term relationship broke up.
（2） I’ve left my business hung up at loose ends between two oceans， and it’s time to connect again.
● 英國俚語“have a chinwag”，相當於美國英語中的“have a chat”，就是“聊聊天”的意思。“chinwag”一詞可以看作是“chin”和“wag”的結合，就像是嘴巴一張一合在說話。事實上，“chinwag”的意思是“a chat or gossip conversation”，而短語“have a chinwag”通常是指與自己非常熟悉的朋友隨意地聊天，甚至是說說八卦。例如：
（1） Shall we sit down at the table and have a chinwag？
（2） I like to meet my friends for dinner， and have a chinwag.