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The expression 'chip on your shoulder' is rooted from ship yards workers in the 1600's. The phrase reflects shipwrights that allowed workers to take home 'chips' or pieces of wood they good use for their family.
Wiki User
∙ 9y ago
Wiki User
∙ 9y agoTo have a chip on one's shoulder is to have a negative outlook on life, by thinking that the whole world is against you. A person who has a chip on their shoulder is holding some sort of a grudge against someone or something.
Wiki User
∙ 8y agoIt is like being proud and having an attitude. You are just looking for trouble and want someone to challenge you so you can lay into them. Some people characteristically are hot-tempered and very easily become antagonistically angry -- then we say that they always carry a chip on their shoulder.
A person who has "a chip on his shoulder" is usually resentful but not necessarily angry because of something that happened or was imagined to have actually occurred in the past. Thus, a normally friendly, easygoing personality can suddenly turn sullen, sarcastic, abusive and antagonistic when a specific topic or point is mentioned in conversation. That's when we would use this idiomatic expression.
The mental image for this idiom is usually a man with an actual chip of wood on one shoulder, daring a conversation partner or perhaps anyone in a nearby crowd, to try to knock the chip off -- the signal or challenge to physically fight, in order to establish who is right, believing that "Might is Right".
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoThat guy really has a chip on his shoulder.
Wiki User
∙ 11y agoThe LITERAL meaning is that he has a chip or small piece of something balanced on his shoulder.
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If someone carries a grudge it is said to have what on your shoulder shoulder?
a chip
What does idiom chip on your shoulder and be out to lunch in no time?
WikiAnswers is set up to answer one question at a time. Here is a link to one of your questions, and you can ask the other one separately to get a good answer.
What does it mean if sandy was a chip off the old block mean?
Chip off the old block means someone closely resembles their parents or mentors in some way, usually by appearance, mannerisms or skills/hobbies.
What is the Plural of chip?
The plural of chip is chips.
What is the meaning of shoulder seasons?
shoulder season
What is an example sentence using the idiom chip on your shoulder?
You really have a chip on your shoulder. Don't get a chip on your shoulder over such a little thing.
How do you use a chip on your shoulder in a sentence?
Ignore her, she just has a chip on her shoulder.
What does chip on his shirt mean?
Nothing. Perhaps you mean "chip on his shoulder," which means that someone has an antagonistic attitude and seems to be trying to create an argument.
What animal has a chip on its shoulder?
chip and dale
If someone carries a grudge it is said to have what on your shoulder shoulder?
a chip
What is born with a chip?
It might mean born with a chip on one's shoulder. Don't know the origin, but having a chip on your shoulder means that you have an antisocial attitude and are always looking for a fight with someone.
Name a kind of chip you cant eat?
A poker chip. A wood chip. A computer chip. A cow chip. A chip off the old block. A chip on the shoulder.
What actors and actresses appeared in Chip on My Shoulder - 2009?
The cast of Chip on My Shoulder - 2009 includes: Jonathan Anastas as himself Ed Lalli as himself Chris Lauria as himself Steve Risteen as himself
What is Candys explanation for the chip on Curleys shoulder?
Candy explains that Curley has a chip on his shoulder because he is a small man who is constantly trying to prove himself. He is insecure about his size and compensates by being aggressive and picking fights with bigger men.
Where do they put the chip on the cats?
They put it between my cats shoulder blades where she couldn't pick at it.
What does adduct the shoulder mean?
to bring the shoulder toward the body
What has the author Eric Maschwitz written?
Eric Maschwitz has written: 'Magyar melody' 'Little red monkey' 'No chip on my shoulder'
