bite on granite
bite on granite verb: to waste energy on a pointless task.
Verb
bite on granite (third-person singular simple present bites on granite, present participle biting on granite, simple past bit on granite, past participle bitten on granite)
- To waste energy on a pointless task.
- To proselytize to devout believers of another faith is to bite on granite.
- to face a diagonal occupied by two or more opposing pawns.
- Chess openings in which one fianchettos one's bishop often result in said bishop biting on granite.
Forms of bite on granite
| third-person singular present | bites on granite |
|---|---|
| present participle | biting on granite |
| past | bit on granite |
| past participle | bitten on granite |
Origin of bite on granite
The first usage of this phrase is commonly attributed to Frederick the Great of Prussia as chronicled by Bernhard von Bülow, who was Chancellor of the German Empire from 1900 - 1909. Bülow citation of the given phrase was found in a speech to the Reichstag in late 1902 written in response to a public speech by the British Colonial Secretary, Joseph Chamberlain (father of WWII Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain) which criticized the German army's conduct during the Franco-Prussian War. Bülow was trying to end the debate on this matter within the Reichstag, so he said of Chamberlain: "Let the man alone, he's biting on granite!" [orig. "Lasst den Mann laufen, er beisst auf Granit!"] meaning that Chamberlain's criticism required no response because it would have no meaningful effect and the matter should be dropped. Regarding the chess-related usage of the phrase, it occurs multiple times in the last book written by Siegbert Tarrasch before his death. Titled The Game of Chess when published in English in 1987, it was first published in German in 1931 as Das Schachspiel.
Questions about bite on granite
- What does bite on granite mean?
- Bite on granite means to waste energy on a pointless task.
- What part of speech is bite on granite?
- Bite on granite is a verb.
- What is the past tense of bite on granite?
- The past tense of bite on granite is bit on granite.
Words near bite on granite in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: bite on granite (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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