Chip-on-one-s-shoulder Definition
noun
(idiomatic) A habitually combative attitude, usually because of a harboured grievance, sense of inferiority, or having something to prove.
Wiktionary
(idiomatic) A tendency to take offence quickly.
Wiktionary
Origin of Chip-on-one-s-shoulder
The saying originated during the 19th century in the United States, where people wanting a physical fight would carry a chip of wood on their shoulder, daring others to knock it off. Printed citations of this include the Long Island Telegraph, which on May 20th, 1830, printed: "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."
From Wiktionary
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