glass jaw

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English

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Etymology

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An allusion to glass being easily breakable.

Noun

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glass jaw (plural glass jaws)

  1. (chiefly boxing) A fighting vulnerability where one is easily knocked out via a single hard blow to the chin or jaw (due to lack of conditioning, insufficient training, or damage from past cerebral concussions).
    • 1989, Bryce Courtenay, The Power of One, →ISBN, page 109:
      "How was I to know that big ape had a glass jaw?"
    • [2010, Stephen Timblin, Muhammad Ali: King of the Ring, Sterling, →ISBN, page 101:
      Early in Ali's career, experts believed he had what's called a glass jaw—that he would fall after the first big punch. He was now proving that he could take a punch, but each punch chipped away at his health.]
  2. (figurative) A vulnerability of that sort; a weak spot.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:weak spot
    • 1979, M. LeVan Rhame, Jon Chalmers Niemeyer, Tennis Magic: Playing With a Full Deck, New York: Vantage Press, page 164:
      It is essential that a player be able to identify his glass jaw or his weak spot and learn to deal with it in actual competition.
    • 2008 February 13, Ross Douthat, “Obama's Glass Jaw?”, in The Atlantic[1]:
      But if Obama does have a glass jaw, if his candidacy is a bubble waiting to be pricked, a strong Republican nominee like McCain is precisely the guy to do it.
    • 2019 July 1, Gabriela Resto-Montero, “Post-debate polls show Biden’s lead shrinking and Harris gaining”, in Vox:
      Does the frontrunner have a glass jaw?
      All year, Biden has led in the vast majority of national and early-state polls of Democratic voters.

Synonyms

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Further reading

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