Definition

1. Verb:
   • To discuss or review (something) again, often in detail: To talk about a past event, idea, or problem repeatedly, typically without reaching a new conclusion or resolution. It implies re-examining or rehashing old topics.

Usage

• The verb "hash over" is transitive and requires a direct object (e.g., a topic, an argument, a plan).
• It is often used in informal contexts to describe conversations where people revisit and debate something that has already been discussed.
• It can carry a slightly negative connotation, suggesting the discussion is repetitive and potentially unproductive.

Examples

• Verb:
  • The committee spent the afternoon hashing over the details of the failed proposal.
  • We've already decided; there's no point in hashing over the same old arguments.
  • Let's not hash over past mistakes. We should focus on the future.

Advanced Usage

• "to hash it over": A common phrasing where "it" refers to the topic being discussed.
  • We need to sit down and hash it over before we make a final decision.

Variants and Related Words

• Rehash (verb/noun): To present old ideas in a new form without significant change; or the result of such an act.
  • The article was just a rehash of yesterday's news report.
• Revisit (verb): To consider or discuss something again. (More neutral than "hash over".)
  • We may need to revisit this policy next year.

Synonyms

• Reiterate: To say something again or repeatedly.
• Re-examine: To look at or consider something again.
• Dwell on: To think, speak, or write at length about something.
• Rehearse (an argument): To repeat or practice arguments or discussions.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Go over: To review or examine something.
  • Let's go over the main points one more time. (More neutral and productive than "hash over").
• Talk over: To discuss something thoroughly.
  • We should talk over the plan with the whole team.

Related Idioms

• Beat a dead horse: To waste time on something that is already settled or cannot be changed. (This idiom is very close in meaning to the unproductive sense of "hash over".)
  • Arguing about the budget now is just beating a dead horse.

Verb

1. go back over
   • retrograde arguments