{"id":3157,"date":"2022-05-03T18:07:36","date_gmt":"2022-05-03T18:07:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=3157"},"modified":"2022-05-03T18:07:36","modified_gmt":"2022-05-03T18:07:36","slug":"chip-on-your-shoulder-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/chip-on-your-shoulder-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Chip on Your Shoulder \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Are you looking for an expression that defines an angry person who always seems to have a bad attitude? If so, you could tell them, \u201c<em>you have a chip on your shoulder<\/em>.\u201d This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.<\/p>\n<h2>Meaning<\/h2>\n<p><strong>The meaning of a \u201c<em>chip on your shoulder<\/em>\u201d refers to a person having a bad attitude or something that\u2019s bothering them, causing a change in their behavior to a grumpy state. It can also refer to a sense of inferiority or a perceived grievance with another person or entity.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t get too close to Mike, he might seem like a nice guy, but he\u2019s got a chip on his shoulder. Cross him, and he\u2019ll explode with outrage at any moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat kid has a real chip on his shoulder. He\u2019s always acting like he has something to prove. I think he needs to see a psychiatrist.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTracy has a huge chip on her shoulder. That woman is always so bitter and angry that I can\u2019t say I enjoy talking to her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tom\u2019s father died when he was young, and it left a chip on his shoulder. He\u2019s always so defensive when you challenge him on anything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t like how that turned out. It left a chip on my shoulder, and I\u2019m ready to give that guy hell for trying to undermine me in public.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3158\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Chip-on-Your-Shoulder.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"214\" height=\"120\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-3159\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Chip-on-Your-Shoulder2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"165\" height=\"207\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Origin<\/h2>\n<p>The origin of the expression \"chip on your shoulder\" comes from \"Letters from the South,\" written by American historian and author James Kirke Paulding in 1817, where it appears as follows.<\/p>\n<p>\"A man rode furiously by on horseback and swore he'd be d----d if he could not lick any man who dared to crook his elbow at him. This, it seems, is equivalent to throwing the glove in days of yore, or to the boyish custom of knocking a chip off the shoulder.\"<\/p>\n<p>The Long Island Telegraph published an article containing the phrase in 1830.<\/p>\n<p>\"When two churlish boys were determined to fight, a chip would be placed on the shoulder of one, and the other demanded to knock it off at his peril.\"<\/p>\n<p>However, the first use of the expression by British writers only appears in the 1930s in \"Gentleman in the Parlour,\" written by Somerset Maugham, where it appears as follows.<\/p>\n<p>\"He was a man with a chip on his shoulder. Everyone seemed in a conspiracy to slight or injure him.\"<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Idiom Meanings: Chip on Your Shoulder | Body Part Idioms\" width=\"512\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/obxuwPp_BxU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar to Chip on Your Shoulder<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Bad-tempered.<\/li>\n<li>Bad blood.<\/li>\n<li>Impatient and moody.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phrases Opposite to Chip on Your Shoulder<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Calm and level-headed.<\/li>\n<li>Cool as a cucumber.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Chip on your shoulder.<\/li>\n<li>Chip on his\/her\/one\u2019s shoulder.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ways People May Say Chip on Your Shoulder Incorrectly<\/h2>\n<p>The phrase doesn\u2019t have a literal meaning. It\u2019s a way of saying that someone acts angry or frustrated, and they are quick to lash out. It\u2019s common for the phrase to appear with the words \u201con\u201d their shoulder, but it also works with his, her, their, one\u2019s, and many other pronouns. However, saying a chip \u201cin\u201d\u2019 their shoulder\u201d would be the incorrect use of the expression.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Phrase Chip on Your Shoulder<\/h2>\n<p>You can use the phrase \u201cchip on your shoulder\u201d when you\u2019re trying to tell someone they have underlying anger issues or psychological problems that affect their behavior. The term suits social and professional use.<\/p>\n<p>You could use it to describe how a person a work has a bad attitude and seems to always act bitter around people for an unknown reason. You could use it to explain how a friend has emotional or psychological problems that make them angry or frustrated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Are you looking for an expression that defines an angry person who always seems to have a bad attitude? If so, you could tell them, \u201cyou have a chip on your shoulder.\u201d This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression. Meaning The meaning of a \u201cchip on your shoulder\u201d refers to a person [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3157"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3157"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3322,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3157\/revisions\/3322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}