chum in the water
- idiom
- Informal
:
presa fácil
- After her mistake became public, she was chum in the water for her rivals.
Examples
-
His outspoken comments made him chum in the water at the press conference.
-
The new regulation was chum in the water for critics of the administration.
-
Don't be a chum in the water during the debate!
-
The politician was like chum in the water after the scandal.
-
After her mistake became public, she was chum in the water for her rivals.
-
His outspoken comments made him chum in the water at the press conference.
-
The politician was like chum in the water after the scandal.
Antonyms
How Vulnerable
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense follows directly from the constituents: 'chum' (bait used to attract fish) placed 'in the water' evokes something placed where predators can easily target it, so the metaphorical meaning 'vulnerable target attracting attack or criticism' is predictable. This is a straightforward, cross-linguistically accessible bait/predator mapping, so a learner who knows the component meanings can infer the MWE.
Etymology
The idiom chum in the water comes from fishermen who threw chum (bits of fish) into the water to bring sharks and other big fish, so anything near the chum was easy for the fish to attack. That's why calling someone chum in the water means they are 'vulnerable' or 'a target' for attack or criticism.