# What does ‘a chip on your shoulder’ mean?

To “a chip on your shoulder” means to a lasting grievance that makes someone easily offended. Brewer's records the American schoolboy custom of placing a chip of wood on the shoulder and daring another to knock it off as a challenge to fight; hence the transferred sense.

## What it means

- Brewer's records the American schoolboy custom of placing a chip of wood on the shoulder and daring another to knock it off as a challenge to fight; hence the transferred sense.

## Action steps

1. Describes touchy, defensive behaviour rooted in past hurt.
2. Example: He's had a chip on his shoulder since he was passed over.

## Sources

- [Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) — Internet Archive scan](https://archive.org/details/brewers-dictionary-of-phrase-and-fable)

---
Canonical: https://bestidiomanswers.com/answers/a-chip-on-your-shoulder
Author: Best Idiom Answers — https://bestidiomanswers.com
Publisher: Best Idiom Answers
Published: 2026-07-18T04:16:34.770233+00:00
Modified: 2026-07-18T04:16:34.770233+00:00
Last verified: 2026-07-18
License: Citation License 1.0 — https://bestexpertanswers.com/license
© Adolicious LLC