chip on your shoulder
0 antonyms and opposites of chip on your shoulder, grouped by meaning.
Phrase — A lasting resentment or sense of grievance that makes someone quick to take offence, argue or feel looked down on.
How to use chip on your shoulder
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
Informal. Calling someone out for it is confrontational.
Etymology
From an American practice of placing a wood chip on one's shoulder and daring another person to knock it off as a challenge to fight; the phrase is recorded in this literal sense before becoming figurative.
Full origin of chip on your shoulder →Frequently asked questions
Is having a chip on your shoulder always negative?
Usually, yes — it suggests touchiness and misplaced anger. In sport and business writing it has softened into something close to a compliment, describing an underdog whose resentment at being dismissed becomes motivation.
What is the difference between a chip on your shoulder and an axe to grind?
A chip on your shoulder is a general, diffuse resentment aimed at the world or a group. An axe to grind is a specific hidden agenda in a particular argument — you are pushing a case because it serves you, not out of principle.
Where does the phrase come from?
From a literal challenge: a man would balance a chip of wood on his shoulder and invite anyone spoiling for a fight to knock it off. The figurative sense of walking around looking for offence grew directly out of that image.