What Does "Chopping It Up" Mean?

Meaning of “Chop It Up”

“Chop it up” is slang for catching up with someone. When someone tells you they want to chop it up soon, they mean that they want to talk to you and see how you’re doing. This slang phrase is another way to say that they want to catch up with you because they haven’t seen you in a while. “It’s been so long since we’ve hung out! Let’s get lunch and chop it up.” “I can’t wait to finally see you! We have to chop it up as soon as I’m there.”

“Chop it up” also means “to talk” or “to have a conversation.” People often use “chop it up” or “chopping it up” in a more general way to say they are chatting with their friends. This slang phrase is typically used to refer to casual or silly conversations and gossip sessions. “I just want to get some drinks and chop it up. I don’t care what we talk about.” “We were chopping it up last night. Val told me the wildest story about Dan.”

How to Use “Chop It Up”

Say “chop it up” when you want to catch up with or talk to someone. If you haven’t seen or heard from one of your friends in a while, tell them you want to chop it up and find out what they’ve been doing recently. Or, use this phrase to let your friends know that you want to hang out and just chat. “Let’s chop it up soon, okay? I want to hear what’s been going on with you!” “Are you doing anything later? I’m down to just hang out and chop it up.”

Where does “Chop it up” come from?

“Chop it up” is African American Vernacular English (AAVE) slang. While “chop it up” and “chopping it up” are AAVE slang phrases, there’s no real consensus on where the phrases came from. Because “chops” means “jaw” in other English phrases and idioms (like “busting my chops”), it might refer to moving your jaw up and down to talk.