glass jaw
2
7.9
- noun
- /ɡlæs dʒɔ/
- Informal
:
mandíbula de cristal
- His tendency to lose fights quickly showed that he had a glass jaw.
Examples
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Boxers who frequently get knocked out are often described as having a glass jaw.
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Yeah, big deal, the guy's got glass jaw.
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Turns out, a punch could knock the pins into my brain... so it's worse than a glass jaw.
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He had a glass jaw.
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Ringside experts now believe Louis has a glass jaw, and may even be a dumb fighter.
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DURAND: A glass jaw.
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Also, he has come up from cruiser weight; he is not a true heavyweight, so when he fights the bigger guys like Price and Fury, he will struggle (unless they have glass jaws like Mitchell).
Blog text (34) -
Many fans believe that a boxer with a glass jaw cannot withstand tough opponents in the ring.
Synonyms
1
8.8
A weak jaw that makes someone easy to knock out
Surface Forms
Morphology
glass + jaw
The compound meaning is directly and transparently built from the constituents: 'glass' evokes brittleness/fragility and 'jaw' denotes the physical jaw, so a 'glass jaw' clearly suggests a jaw that is easily damaged or a person easily knocked out. This straightforward metaphorical mapping is predictable for a B1 learner who knows the words, making the expression readily comprehensible without special cultural knowledge.
Etymology
Glass jaw may come from a boxing image: imagine a jaw made of glass that breaks after one strong hit. So it means 'a weak spot' or someone who is easily 'knocked out'.