Coach chewed us out 严厉责骂

Reader question:

Please explain “chewed us out” in this sentence: At half time, Coach chewed us out for not running hard enough.

My comments:

Are we talking about American football here?

Anyways, it seems at half time of a match, the coach is chewing his team out for not playing hard, i.e. by shouting at them and scolding them severely.

I said this sounds like an American football game because “chewing someone up” is an American expression.

In English football, for example, reporters would be saying something different, something similar but different. If a coach shouted at his players for their poor play in similar fashion, he or she would be giving them what is called the hairdryer treatment.

Hairdryer treatment?

Yeah, and that refers to how an angry coach shouts at a player in his face, in such a way that the player feels the coach’s hot breaths like he feels the wind from an electric hairdryer.

If you’ve ever used a hairdryer to dry up your wet hair after a haircut, you’ll have no problem getting the gist of this.

In American colloquialism, on the other hand, people describe the same thing by saying the coach is chewing his or players out – his rather than her players, I must say, because presumably women coaches aren’t capable of being as rude sounding as their male counterpart are.

Presumably the coach is so angry and shouting so loud that his jaws move like that of a hungry dog chewing on a big bone.

Or, if that image is too unpleasant, like someone chewing a bubblegum hard – and finally spitting it out with force and venom.

At any rate, I think you get the idea.

So, with no further ado, here are media examples of someone being chew out, meaning being thoroughly (and angrily) reprimanded:

1. Here’s a closely guarded secret: Women have more influence over men than they think. Psychologist Jay Carter talks to Michelle Burford about male self-esteem, the criticism that could demolish a man and what male intimacy is really about.

Twenty-six years of counseling men and couples have given Jay Carter an unusually clear window into men’s hearts and minds. Carter’s observations are so eye-opening that we asked him about everything from finding the key to a man’s inner life to the best way to chew him out when you’re mad:

Michelle Burford: You’ve written that most women have no idea of their power to wound men. Where does this power originate?

Jay Carter: During a boy’s most important developmental period -- his first five years -- he usually gets his self-esteem from his mother. I think some of Freud's theories are hogwash, but I believe he was right about at least one: Whereas a girl might choose to grow up to become like her mother in certain ways, a boy tries to be becoming to his mother -- to make her proud.

Years later, when he meets someone he wants to spend his life with, he unconsciously gives her what I call his “jujube doll” -- a kind of voodoo-like name I have for the part of a man’s self-esteem that’s vulnerable to a woman’s opinion of him. If she sticks a pin in his doll, he recoils. Most women I talk with don’t realize what kind of influence they have over men.

Burford: Doesn’t a woman likewise hand over part of her power to the most significant man in her life?

Carter: Yes, but she does it by sharing her most private feelings. The seat of a woman’s soul is her emotions. A woman usually believes you know her when you know what she feels. But the seat of a man’s soul is his intent or purpose.

That’s why when a woman bares her soul by disclosing her feelings, a man often doesn’t recognize that as significant. He’s been socialized to discount feelings.

For him, baring the soul means sharing his hopes and dreams. He may say things that seem boring, silly or outlandish: “You know what I’d do if I had $20,000? I’d invest it in lotto.” But if a woman really listens, he’ll share more.

After a failure, a man might express his intentions by saying, “I know I’ve messed up, but here’s what I wanted for our family.” When a woman understands this, she can begin to share her own intentions as a way of drawing him closer. Men respect hopes and dreams. That’s a language they speak.

- Women’s power to hurt the male ego, Oprah.com, October 25, 2010.

2. Trump’s longtime adviser Hope Hicks resigned shortly after Donald Trump chewed her out following her 8 hour testimony to the House Intelligence Committee during which she admitting to lying for the president.

The NY Post reports:

A livid Trump demanded to know “how she could be that stupid” to admit she lies for the president, the report said.

Hicks, who has been by Trump’s side since the start of his presidential campaign, then suddenly announced Wednesday she would resign.

- Hope Hicks Resigned After Trump Chewed Her Out for Admitting to Lying, TowleRoad.com, March 1, 2018.

3. We’ll get a chance to see the real San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman Monday night against the Denver Broncos. We might see some footage from practice over the next couple of days. He has looked like his dominant self during training camp, and everyone is taking notice.

George Kittle, who had some success in 2018, spoke like a fan when talking to NBC Sports’ Peter King about Sherman. He mentioned how he looked up to Sherman and had plenty more to say:

“His work ethic every single snap. Every snap for him is a Super Bowl rep. He’s not gonna let anyone beat him on any single rep. His mindset is always that I’m the best, and nobody can beat me.”

In practice last week, when the defense was giving up plays left and right to the offense, Sherman gathered the entire defense, not just the members on the field, and chewed them out. He wasn’t happy with the intensity or the execution on the field. His leadership goes far beyond a huddle, but when he does call you out, it’s impossible not to notice.

Kittle believes the way Sherman handles his business has a domino effect on the entire 49ers team.

“That’s what breeds competition. That’s how you have a good team. That’s our goal. If I can I do what Sherman does on every single play, then I can be one heck of a tight end.”
Iron sharpens iron.

- Kittle believes Sherman’s mentality could be what takes the Niners to the next level, NinersNation.com, August 16, 2019.

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About the author:

Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.

（作者：张欣 编辑：丹妮）