chink in the armor
1
7.4
- idiom
- Informal
:
punto débil
- The reason their tightwad sphincters are shut tighter than a diamond vault in Antwerp is that every concession they make to Labor gives Labor a chink in the armor to exploit next year or the year after that.
- the first chink in the armor
- more chinks in the armor
And, you know, you keep seeing these little chinks in the armor.
- And, you know, you keep seeing these little chinks in the armor.
Examples
-
The team's defeat exposed a chink in the armor of their previously unbeatable strategy.
-
She stares at him, trying to find a chink in the armor, trying to find a reason, trying to find something.
Fiction book (1990) -
Several are saying this could be a chink in the armor.
Blog text (25) -
There was a chink in the armor.
Fiction book (1996) -
JON: Looking for a chink in the armor.
-
You needed a little motivation- pressure... on that little chink in the armor.
-
He's a weak link, and they will be looking to exploit that chink in the armor.
Blog text (30) -
And here, he hoped, through the outmoded creation of a chink in the armor, one could glimpse an outside to the totality of technologized space.
Academic text (2000) -
But unlike Sinnett's neurosurgeons, who work away unperturbed by their gruesome business, we catch a chink in the armor of Kotsilidis' doctor.
Academic text (2014) -
The rest of the European Union, lagging behind, has at least now adopted Electricity and Gas Directives which, unsatisfactory as they are, should eventually open up the relevant markets to competition: indeed, once there are chinks in the armor of the Continental gas and electricity monopolies, competition may quickly undermine them.
Academic text (2000)
Synonyms
344
1.7
A fault in a person or thing that makes them less effective
113
3.3
A weakness in a person's character that causes problems
24
2.7
A part that others can easily attack or use against someone
12
3.0
A part of a person or thing that is not strong and can cause problems
11
6.3
A small but serious weakness in someone or something that can cause failure
2
6.7
A weak part of a plan or organization that others can easily take advantage of
Antonyms
How Vulnerable
- Informal
11
6.3
156
5.1
- Informal
1
7.4
24
2.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'a weakness or vulnerable point' is directly and predictably derived from combining 'chink' (a small slit or gap) with 'armor' (protective covering): a gap in protection maps straightforwardly to vulnerability. This physical-to-figurative mapping is common cross-linguistically and follows a clear compositional pattern, so a learner who knows the constituents would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Chink in the armor may come from old armor. A small chink is a crack or gap in the armor that lets an enemy's sword or arrow get through, so the phrase now means a 'weak spot' or 'vulnerable point' in a person, group, or system.