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The Kitchen Table

Phrase of the day 3/22

jim_1 (Zone 5B)

5 years ago

Knock a chip off his shoulder

This comes from a boyhood game almost two centuries ago. In the words of a New York newspaper of 1830: “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.” So anybody who goes around with a chip on his shoulder is spoiling for a fight, or at least an argument.

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Comments (3)

Annie Deighnaugh
5 years ago
I wonder if that's related to "chip off the old block" which means the child is very much like the parent.
salonva
5 years ago
Thanks Jim that one is new to me.......

Annie, I don't think so as I kind of remember several variants on the chip off the old block ( the acorn doesn't fall far from the tree-------and in yiddish there is one about the offspring taking after the root etc etc....interesting tho for sure- and who knows)
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Annie Deighnaugh
5 years ago
salonva...we always said the apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

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