Chomping On The Bit vs. Champing On The Bit

These phrases stem from racehorses in a starting gate, biting their bits, hoofing the ground, whinnying. impatiently waiting for the starting gun to fire. They mean “to be eager to start or to be anxious to get moving,” just as you are eager to learn which one is actually correct.

“CHOMPING ON THE BIT”

The above phrase is such a common mistake, one might argue that using it has become expected; however, it still remains incorrect. To make it even more confusing, the words “chomping” and “champing” stem from the same Middle English word “chammen,” which eventually became “champen,” but chomping means “to munch or chew vigorously and noisily” and usually is used to describe eating. So even though a horse may be biting its bit before a race, anxiously awaiting the start of a race, it's not planning to “eat” the device in its mouth. 

“CHAMPING ON THE BIT”

This phrase is the correct one because “champing” means “to make biting or grinding movements” without inferring the action of eating. The important word in this phrase is rarely used outside of this phrase and so the use of “chomping,” which seems logical, is used more frequently, but still incorrectly.