chip on shoulder
Defensive about slights
A chip on one's shoulder is a persistent attitude of resentment or grievance, often accompanied by readiness to take offense or pick a fight: He's had a chip on his shoulder ever since he got passed over for promotion.
The phrase suggests someone nursing a grudge, daring others to knock it off.
- argumentativenessDisposition to dispute
- bad attitudeHostile, uncooperative mindset
- bitternessSharp, unpleasant taste or feeling
- axe to grindHidden personal agenda
- inferiority complexChronic sense of inadequacy
overcompensation · resentment · touchiness · sore spot · self-doubt · hostility · indignation · insecurity · humiliation · vulnerability · stubbornness · defiance · jealousy · grudge · confrontation · alienation · provocation · self-consciousness
- body idiomsheart of gold, heart of stone, cold heart, warm heart, soft heart
- idiomstime flies, hit the sack, seize the day, ring a bell, break a leg
- resentmentresentful, grudge, bitterness, rancor, spite
- combativenessaggression, antagonism, belligerence, bellicosity, combativeness
- angeranger, rage, fury, wrath, ire
- conflictclash, fight, war, battle, dispute
chip on shoulderequanimity
Unshakable mental steadiness
inner peace · serenity · easygoing · laid-back · contentment
chip on shoulderwarmth
Heat you feel
openness · friendliness · affability · amiability · good nature
chip on shoulderwater off a duck's back
Criticism having no effect
letting go · thick skin · forgiving · thick-skinned · forgiveness
chip, chips, chipped, chipping, chipper, shoulder, shoulders, shouldered, shouldering