chops
/tʃɒps
/plural noun informal
1A person’s or animal’s mouth or jaws: a smack in the chops...
- More recently the same liberals have, of course, been publicly licking their unseemly chops at his widely publicized personal setbacks.
- One can almost imagine Davis, under the window, telephoto lens extended, chops licked, ready for the fashion pounce.
- For toddlers, there are special little ones for hands and faces, just in case you contemplate wiping a sibling's jam-smeared chops with a wipe designed for their baby brother's bottom.
1.1A person’s cheeks: his wobbling chops...
- Ever since Salome strutted her stuff for a plateful of chops (those would be the rather bristly chops of John the Baptist), women have recognised their power.
- Griffiths said words were unnecessary as he had administered a swift hand to the chops of the new world number one.
- Much as I'm a fan of Victoriana, I draw the line at Dickensian chops.
2The technical skill of a jazz or rock musician: when I’m on tour my chops go down...
- Some of my favorite albums consist of campfire singalongs by bands with modest acoustic guitar chops, cute names and even cuter accents.
- The version of ‘Sombrero Sam’, however, really allows Emerson's funky keyboard chops to come to the fore.
- They are a talented rock band, a post-rock group cut loose from the Chicago school, their chops honed to indie perfection.
Phrases
bust one's chops
bust someone's chops
Origin
Late Middle English: variant of chap3.