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chickenshit

chickenshit

21 9.9
A person or action that is cowardly and petty
  • noun
  • /ˈtʃɪkənˌʃɪt/
  • Offensive
translation icon : cagón
  • He's no chickenshit, but it's worth your life to fight.
  • chickenshit cocksucker
  • chickenshit bastard
  • chickenshit asshole

Examples

  • If she could implement the plan, there wouldn't be, but she was chickenshit in regard to the plan.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Perfect examples of her chickenshit life.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • So, as someone who made the same call: it's not chickenshit, it's being careful.

    Blog text (13)
  • But then I figured maybe you were just too chickenshit, so I went ahead and I did it myself.

  • I end the longest war in American history, and they keep harping on this chickenshit!

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Mr. Hunham, if you're too chickenshit to go to this party, then just say that.

  • You're a lot of things, but chickenshit isn't one of them.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • It's a chickenshit excuse, he thinks—as lame as his own defensiveness the other night.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • He backed out of the challenge, proving he was too chickenshit to face the competition.

  • Instead of standing up for what was right, she chose the chickenshit route and remained silent.

Synonyms

chicken
vschickenshit
  • Offensive
301 8.4

A person who is easily frightened and not brave

is more contemptible and often used for petty acts or remarks
chicken-heart
vschickenshit
  • Offensive
1 8.9

A person who is easily frightened and avoids danger

is more contemptible and petty, focusing on smallness as well as fear

Antonyms

2.5

Important and big enough to make a difference

How Brave

courageous
157 3.3
brave
906 1.0
chickenshit
  • Offensive
21 9.9
timid
60 3.5

Surface Forms

chickenshit singular
chickenshits plural

Morphology

chickenshit = chicken + shit (semi-transparent) = chicken + shit

The components 'chicken' (coward) and 'shit' (vulgar insult) are clear, but the compound's exact idiomatic sense 'contemptible/petty' is figurative and not strictly compositional.

Etymology

Chickenshit comes from putting chicken (a common word used to call someone a 'coward') together with shit (a crude word for 'rubbish' or something 'worthless'). So, chickenshit describes a cowardly, petty, or unimportant action or person.