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“He has a chip on his shoulder” — Expressões em Inglês

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O que significa a expressão He has a chip on his shoulder? Traduzindo ao pé da letra, quer dizer “ele tem uma lasca no ombro”. No entanto, seu sentido é: Ele é brigão, ele gosta de brigar, ele é pavio curto, ele é estourado, esquentado.

Veja algumas definições linguísticas:

1. A form of challenge in the same spirit as a medieval knight throwing down his gauntlet. [Uma forma de desafio no mesmo espírito que os cavaleiros medievais em jogar a luva]

2. (idiomatic) A habitually combative attitude, usually because of a harboured grievance, sense of inferiority, or having something to prove. [Uma atitude habitualmente agressiva, normalmente por ressentimentos guardados, senso de inferioridade, ou tendo algo para provar]

Ex.: He really has a chip on his shoulder about being passed over for that promotion. [Ele está mesmo disposto a brigar para conseguir essa promoção]

3. (idiomatic) A tendency to take offence quickly. [Uma tendência a se ofender rapidamente.]

GoEnglish comenta:

1. A person who has “a chip on his shoulder” is angry because of some thing that happened in the past. Example: “He lost his game this morning, and now he has a chip on his shoulder.” 2. It is easy for a person to get in a fight when he has a chip on his shoulder, because he is already angry about something else. Example: “Watch out for that guy, he's got a chip on his shoulder.” 3. To start a fight, men used to put chips of wood on their shoulder and challenge others to “try to knock it off”. Example: “What's bothering that guy?” Reply: “Nothing. He's just got a chip on the shoulder.” Example: “Tom had a tough time growing up, so he's got a bit of a chip on his shoulder.” You can use the definite article (“the”) which sounds more general (“a chip on the shoulder”), but more often people use the personal pronoun (“his”, “her”, “their”) to say that that specific person has “a chip on his (her, their) shoulder.”

Citações Literárias:

• 1830 The Onondaga Standard, Syracuse: New York, on 8th December 1830:

‘Oh! if I only could get him to knock a chip off my shoulder, and so get round the law, I would give him one of the soundest thrashings he ever had.’

• 1855. The Weekly Oregonian:

Leland, in his last issue, struts out with a chip on his shoulder, and dares Bush to knock it off.

Etimologia:

No século XIX, os garotos costumavam colocar uma lasca de madeira no ombro. Ao fazer isso, eles desafiavam os outros a derrubá-la e quem a fizesse estaria comprando uma briga. Essa era a maneira da época de desafiar alguém, de dizer que está sempre pronto para brigar.

Uso hodierno:

• Usage over time changed, now suggesting somebody who shows a belligerent attitude, acting as though they are asking for a fight. The chip is now figurative, but the idea remains the same. [O uso com o passar do tempo mudou, agora sugere uma pessoa que mostra uma atitude beligerante, agindo como se ele quisesse brigar. A lasca agora é figurativa, mas a ideia continua a mesma.]
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