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This comes from the movie "Munich" by Steven Spielberg. The context is a bit lacking because the conversation takes place between two extras in the movie who are sitting at the bar while the main character is looking at someone across them.

"I take it she'd eat you up a bit, huh? You old dog"

"eat up" 3. To thoroughly enjoy something. When anyone showers the baby with love and affection, she just eats it up! Great job on the presentation—the board is going to eat it up.

Does it mean "I take it she'd enjoyed him a bit"?

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  • Regardless of exactly which of several possible meanings of to eat someone up is intended here, the exact phrasing as cited is somewhat "weird". That's because to eat someone up is inherently emphatic, which clashes with a bit. It like saying That knocked me for six a bit.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Sep 3, 2022 at 12:06

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In this context I suggest that "eat you up" means rather more than 'enjoyed'.

Farlex has quite a list of usages, among which is

eat up

7. To overwhelm and/or easily defeat one due to being more aggressive, powerful, etc. A noun or pronoun can be used between "eat" and "up."

The situation does lack context, but my instinct from knowledge of the language and of how people can discuss others, is that it suggests

She would be more than you can manage.

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  • I think you're probably right about the intended sense. And personally I don't think it's necessary (probably not even desirable) for us to locate and examine the full context in order to be sure about the meaning. The OP can do that for themselves. But I still think a bit makes the cited usage somewhat suspect.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Sep 3, 2022 at 12:09
  • @FumbleFingers 'a bit' could be understatement.
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Sep 3, 2022 at 12:11
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    I'm sure that's the intention. But it still strikes me as weird. Spielberg and his scriptwriters don't always get such things exactly right. You'd never threaten someone with I'll eat you for breakfast a bit!, but that's how the cited usage comes across to me.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Sep 3, 2022 at 12:18
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One guy fancies a woman, and the other man is saying she'd be too much for him to handle. Different language subtitles:

English: she'd eat you up a bit (this is not normal English).

French: Elle ne ferait de toi qu'une bouchée
(She'd make short work of you, or you'd be just a morsel to her)

Italian: Scommetto che lei ti mangerebbe vivo.
(I bet she would eat you alive)

Spanish: Creo que te comería vivo
(I think she would eat you alive)

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