soft underbelly
Exposed defensive gap
A soft underbelly is a vulnerable or unprotected part of something otherwise strong or defended.
The phrase comes from the exposed belly of an animal—the place where armor or thick hide gives way to soft flesh.
It appears most often in military and strategic contexts: The Mediterranean was the soft underbelly of the Axis powers.
More broadly, any weakness in an otherwise solid position: Rising debt is the soft underbelly of the company's growth strategy.
- tender spotPainful area when touched
- fragilityEase of breaking
- weaknessDeficiency in force
- chink in the armorExploitable flaw in defenses
- exposureState of being unprotected
vulnerability · gap · Achilles' heel · glass jaw · pressure point · weak link · weak point · breach · exposed flank · flank · underside · liability · opening · flaw · stomach · susceptibility · tummy · bellybutton
- body idiomsheart of gold, heart of stone, cold heart, warm heart, frozen heart
- weaknessesweakness, flaw, failing, defect, shortcoming
soft underbellyarmor
Protective combat covering
stronghold · bastion · bulwark · shield · fortress
soft underbellyhard shell
Rigid outer protective layer
exoskeleton · carapace · thick hide · protective coating · scales
soft underbellystrong point
Natural area of advantage
forte · core strength · competitive advantage · trump card · ace in the hole
soft, soften, softly, softness, softer, softest, softening, underbelly, under