to whittle away
- phrasal verb
- /ˈhwɪtəl əˈweɪ/
- Informal
:
pasar el tiempo
- Many retirees whittle away their days gardening or chatting with friends at the café.
Examples
-
I often whittle away my weekends reading novels.
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During the long summer break, the children would whittle away their days exploring the backyard and building forts.
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During the long summer afternoons, she would whittle away the hours reading novels on the porch.
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He liked to whittle away his free time playing chess in the park.
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They love to whittle away the afternoon at the lake.
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On a rainy afternoon, we decided to whittle away the time by playing board games and drinking tea.
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He often goes to the café just to whittle away a few hours while reading a book.
Synonyms
39
3.7
To relax after a busy or stressful time and slowly come to an end
35
3.4
Become relaxed and less tense after work or a stressful time
10
6.3
Become more relaxed and easygoing
7
4.3
To spend time relaxing and doing very little
1
8.2
To spend time in a relaxed and pleasant way
1
4.4
To spend time doing very little and relaxing
To pass time by doing something not useful while you wait
Antonyms
How Leisurely
Surface Forms
Morphology
whittle + away
The verb 'whittle' literally means to pare or shave small pieces off (usually wood) and 'away' indicates continued/action, so the figurative sense of slowly using up or passing time is a metaphorical extension of 'carving away' time and is partially inferable from the parts. However, the specific sense 'to spend time pleasantly' (similar to 'while away') is idiomatic enough that a B1 learner would not reliably predict it without prior exposure, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
The phrasal verb whittle away also comes from the same picture: people would sit and whittle for hours, slowly cutting away small pieces to pass the time, so it came to mean 'to spend time in a relaxed or idle way'.