Talk:shoot the breeze
Etymology edit
Added in this edit:
The expression "shoot the breeze" is used in a medieval latin poem by Avianus in the 5th century. "The Calf and The Ox" Medieval latin poetry, Circa 400-430 A.D., poet - Avianus. Scampering the pasture, that's how now, the brown cow, a calf still, sees in the next field, yoked to a heavy plow, the dumb ox, and stops to shoot the breeze: "What's that contraption? What kind of life is that?" The questions, even the mocking laugh get no rise from the ox, but a silent stare at the farmer who carries a glittering butcher knife and a light halter, coming towards the calf. Nobody gets to choose which yoke to wear.
Avianus (Circa 400-430) The Calf and the Ox. David R. Slavitt (Trans.) In K. Washburn, J.S. Major, and C. Fadiman (Eds.) World Poetry (p. 300). New York: W.W. Norton and Company.
...but this is clearly a modern translation of a 5th century Latin poem, and tells us nothing about the source of the English phrase.