It's "champing at the bit," darling.

musical expression should be encouraged in children to help them avoid growing up to be bros/douchebags.

@ 1: on what planet? chOmping refers to a horse chomping at their bit in eagerness.

Also, no amount of accompanying children will save Chelsea from looking like a creepazoid.

You can use champing or chomping. Champing is the original word, but we have updated the English language a bit since the Middle Ages.

In the Merriam-Webster world, at least:

2 : to show impatience of delay or restraint —usually used in the phrase champing at the bit

@4 -- Well thank you, Ashley. I'm sure you'll make a lovely guide as you take us and the rest of civilization down the proverbial trash chute.

Um, yeah. Like posting requests on the Internet asking for somebody to hand over their child to you isn't creepy at all.

Champing is the preferred usage, one may use chomping but it is inelegant.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/champ

Yeah, looks like you can use either according to M-W. But what's this rush to get away from medieval language, dammit? Frea almihtig!

Drum circles are important.

How else will they learn how to operate the advanced bioinformatic computer systems of the future?

Mice are so 20th century ...

That is sooo across the street from my house.
Oh and the construction crew alone has been loud enough. I never even thought of the prospect of an eternal drum circle. Damn.

Dammit, I apologize for those extra spaces. I keep forgetting not to press enter a couple of times at the end. It's a holdover from ASCII days.

tiffany, bros and douchebags have bands too.

Google:

109,000 for "champing at the bit". (0.12 seconds)
491,000 for "chomping at the bit". (0.39 seconds)

It looks nowhere near as fun as the park on MLK.

And I have borrowed a kid and set it loose on that one.

@12 - eternal or infernal ... that's the question ... one might regard an eternal drum circle as the seventh level of heaven ... or the seventh level of hell ...

@ 14

i have never seen a bro drum circle. not saying they don't exist, but they're hard to come by.

She's not asking for someone's kid, she's asking for a fellow weentsy person.

@15 -- I believe it is incumbent on us to save civilization from the tyranny of the majority.

I need to borrow somebody’s kid... but for a different reason.

chelsea. take my kid. just don't bring her back.

Still yet another post she knows nothing about but at least this time she use Fuck just to have it in her post.

Also, those aren't bongos.

My friend is dating a midget-- sorry little person-- I'm sure you can borrow her.

As a 29 year old man who still plays on jungle gyms, I can tell you that unless you're like some kind of old cat lady with piss covered clothes, you'll have no problem on the playground. Being a guy counts a lot more against you than age. And that IS sexism plain and simple.

To all the anti-champers: 'Then is for all intensive purposes' alright, too? Or nucular? Just because a lot of people don't know how to use proper English is no reason to get pissy with those who do.

I don't give a shit what Google returns say, "chomping at the bit" is just awful. Chelsea, I thought we were going to be friends, but after this post I'm not so sure.

I take umbrage at your careless reference to 'bongos'. These are a djembe and conga, the former being the worst offender at said circles. I certainly hope these playground drums are not the gateway drug that forces impressionable tots to later enter the unwashed, patchouli-sniffing drum circles of the future.

google must be wondering why the sudden spike in "chomping/champing at the bit" searches.

When will the horror end? At least with other additions to the slog universe, there's been some logical connection, whether that be a new staff writer, a regular freelancer, or Dan Savage's brother. Chelsea appears at random and seemingly has nothing of substance to say.

Hooray for the grammar police!

Hooray for homogeny!

I mean, Megan Seling already fills the niche for endearing fascination with childlike things (and she does it thoughtfully and well.) The niche for gratuitous use of the word "fuck" is also covered already.

WHAT IS YOUR GAME, CHELSEA?!

(To go back to the original question)

Yes, yes we do.

I'm never using "chomping" again.

Please don't blog about something if you don't have anything to blog about.

Kthx. Bye.

@27,

Alright is not all right.

i don't think chelsea need worry about looking like a creepazoid when this playground is adjacent to two halfway houses. one, pictured directly above and behind it, is for people with serious mental issues and the other, on the corner of 16th and spring, is for sex offenders. so there's no shortage of creepy, solitary types (mostly bedraggled men) loitering on this block and near the park. i've yet to run into any trouble, but the mentals sometimes keep me up at night when one decides to throw a tantrum at 3am. earplugs come in handy.

ANYWAY. the park is okay. that big toy is kind of cutting into my plans for a croquet course, but maybe the dog owners who refuse to scoop their dogs' poop will encourage their pooches to do their business in the woodchips from now on and not on the grass.

I've seen plenty of non-kids on playground equipment while doing my time in playground hell so as long as you aren't pushing the kids off the equipment or exposing yourself or offering to sell them drugs I'm sure it's OK if you go try it sans kid.

Lots of climbing walls allow you to go horizontally rather than vertically - in other words, you practice climbing sideways a foot from the ground. You do have to make sure no other climbers who are going vertically are using those faces, but no one minds you practicing traverses right off the ground.

@15: Google searches are the worst arguments. People used to think, and still think, all kinds of crap.

@ 20, 28, 42: i'm sorry that you feel that google does not reflect the contemporary vernacular and usage of the english language. go stick you noses in an encyclopedia or the oed if you don't like it (and get off of the internet, while you're at it).

and, 42, slog contributors used to write, and still write, all kinds of crap. commenters, too.

I live a block from there and I have to be honest, the house behind that park up on the hill on 16th is way weird. I think it's another halfway house.

I have seen men on the balcony overlooking the park talking to themselves, staring at me as I walk home from Madison Market, wandering or just standing still in the yard for long periods of time just doing nothing... And quite often lone men sitting on that park bench just hanging out. Once it was old notorious "whats his name", the gay native american guy who also hangs out at various bars and in the park across the street from CCAttles and yells sexual things at you as he stumbles around completely wasted (usually around 5 or 6 pm).

There's also a halfway house two down from that place in the 900 block of 16th (http://www.interactiontransition.org/).

I have no idea how many sex offenders live in my two block radius because the site is down (http://web1.seattle.gov/police/sexoffender/search.aspx), but man, the new kiddie toys are making me really nervous.

If you have friends with kids around there, just make sure to keep an eye on them and not let them hang out alone if possible.

Well, that's some fairly colorful playground equipment, but I think that playground would really benefit from some more art, from spray cans and magic markers.

(If the taggers can find a parking space, and have change for the meter...)