Idiom
Chip on your shoulder
Someone with a chip on their shoulder holds a grudge or feels treated unfairly, which makes them touchy, defensive or eager to prove themselves.
How people use it
The usual verb is have (he has a chip on his shoulder about his height), and people often add what the grudge is about. The phrase is mostly critical: it suggests the person is quick to take offense or looking for an argument. In sports and business it is sometimes used more positively for someone driven by past doubts, as in playing with a chip on your shoulder. In British English it is often tied to feelings about social class or education.
Also said: have a chip on your shoulder.
Examples
- Maya has had a chip on her shoulder ever since she was left out of the starting lineup.
- He came into the meeting with a chip on his shoulder, ready to argue about every point.
- The young pitcher played with a chip on his shoulder after so many teams passed on him.
Where it comes from
The best evidence points to the United States in the early 1800s. Newspapers from the 1830s describe a custom among boys and young men: one would put a chip of wood on his shoulder and dare another to knock it off, and knocking it off meant accepting a fight. Another theory links the phrase to British shipyard workers who carried home scrap wood on their shoulders, but little evidence connects that to the modern meaning.
Check yourself
1. What does it mean if a coworker has a chip on his shoulder?
Answer: He holds a grudge and takes offense easily. A chip on your shoulder is a lasting grudge or sense of unfairness, not a physical problem.
2. Which sentence uses the idiom correctly?
Answer: Ever since the promotion went to someone else, Omar has had a chip on his shoulder.. Feeling resentful after being passed over fits the idiom. The snack is literal, and calm cheerfulness is the opposite.
Word game fan? See every word hiding in CHIP.