chink in the armour

C

chink in someone’s armor

Meaning

  • a susceptible or vulnerable area.
  • a figurative presentation of someone’s weaknesses What prevents one’s success or biggest flaw.
  • a vulnerable space or narrow opening in someone’s armor is where the opponent usually aims.
  • a weakness in someone that can be taken advantage of, even though they appear successful or strong.
  • a weakness or minor flaw that is detrimental.
  • the special weakness gives a way of attacking someone or impressing the vulnerable ones.
  • a fault in the character of someone or their argument might pose a huge problem for them.

Example Sentences

  1. Ken is brilliant, but his temper is the chink in his armor.
  2. We are bound for a bad loss if we display a chink in our armor at the negotiations.
  3. The thief used his phone for his business, giving the police the chink in his armor necessary to take him down.
  4. Lack of humor is one chink in our teacher’s armor.
  5. The leader of the opposition is attacking what he sees as a chink in the government’s armor.
  6. The chink in Sam’s armor is procrastination, which will most likely land him in trouble.
  7. She is a brilliant social worker, but her lack of political awareness may be the chink in her armour.

Origin

When used to indicate a flow in someone’s armor, the phrase is built on “chink,” which means a gap or crack and can be traced back to around 1400. The use of the term in symbolic form only appears in the mid-1600s. It is commonly used as the phrase “the Achilles heel.” The phrase has raised controversies recently, mostly in the U.S., due to the likelihood of its use as an ethnic or racial slur about people from China or East Asia.

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