# Is "chink in the armor" an offensive racist term? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 21, 2012, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chink-in-the-armor-an-offensive-racist-term/613563 "2012-02-21T21:06:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chink-in-the-armor-an-offensive-racist-term/613563/21 "2012-02-21T22:00:45Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Is it? Up until now, I don’t think I can remember the last time I heard someone using it. I just ran across it a few days ago myself; I’ve been re-reading David Weber’s military sci-fi books . [QUOTE=The Shadow of Saganami] If Abigail was right and those ships were still in the process of working up, there were likely to be weaknesses in their performance, chinks in their armor. [/QUOTE] I expect the likelihood of running across the phrase depends a lot on what or who you are reading or listening to. Anything involving fighting is logically going to be more likely to have such a combat-derived phrase turn up. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chink-in-the-armor-an-offensive-racist-term/613563/22 "2012-02-21T22:17:52Z")
Naturally it depends on context, and it doesn’t even have to be an idiom. “I found a chink in my spade the other day.” ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chink-in-the-armor-an-offensive-racist-term/613563/23 "2012-02-21T22:18:11Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Exactly. In this particular context it was offensive and incredibly stupid. Bullshit, it was used after Lin finally lost a game after winning something like 8 straight because of high turn overs. There was nothing offensive about it. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chink-in-the-armor-an-offensive-racist-term/613563/24 "2012-02-21T22:31:26Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > It’s sort of funny to hear people complain about being deprived of the ability to use the word when I’m not sure I’ve ever heard anyone say it unless they were quoting Shakespeare. Aside from maybe one or two times in my life, I haven’t ever anyone say “niggardly” unless they were whining about not being able to say it. ---
**Author:** ![Christopher\_Robin\_Davies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8dc957/32.png) [@Christopher\_Robin\_Davies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Christopher_Robin_Davies)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chink-in-the-armor-an-offensive-racist-term/613563/25 "2012-02-21T22:31:45Z")
I think the phrase is only offensive in a given context. If they make another Iron Man movie in the villain discovers a weakness in Tony Stark’s armor and exploits it and he calls it the chink in his armor, that is not racist. But the pun about Jeremy Lin was very questionable. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chink-in-the-armor-an-offensive-racist-term/613563/26 "2012-02-21T22:36:50Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Not when used to refer to a small opening in one’s armor, either literally or figuratively. > > When used to refer to someone of Chinese ancestry, yes. It’s as simple as that. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chink-in-the-armor-an-offensive-racist-term/613563/27 "2012-02-21T22:41:04Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Bullshit, it was used after Lin finally lost a game after winning something like 8 straight because of high turn overs. There was nothing offensive about it. To say there was NOTHING racist about it is completely wrong. Was there racist intent, who knows for sure, but the word ‘chink’ is undeniably a racist term in certain contexts. The potential play on words that is very common in sports headlines certainly can lead to an impression of insensitivity at best. It requires an incredible amount of social unawareness to use the phrase in the context it was used in, even if it wasn’t intended to be have any racial connotations. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chink-in-the-armor-an-offensive-racist-term/613563/28 "2012-02-21T22:43:37Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Bullshit, it was used after Lin finally lost a game after winning something like 8 straight because of high turn overs. There was nothing offensive about it. It was used with a clearly racial connotation. That’s generally considered offensive by a large number of people…including those in charge at ESPN, which took appropriate action after the incident. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chink-in-the-armor-an-offensive-racist-term/613563/29 "2012-02-21T22:46:27Z")
> [@Christopher\_Robin\_Davies](#): > > I think the phrase is only offensive in a given context. If they make another Iron Man movie in the villain discovers a weakness in Tony Stark’s armor and exploits it and he calls it the chink in his armor, that is not racist. But the pun about Jeremy Lin was very questionable. The headline was: > [@](#): > > Chink in the Armor: Jeremy Lin’s 9 Turnovers Cost Knicks in Streak-stopping Loss to Hornets In order words, Jeremy Lin’s poor performance allowed the Knicks to be defeated. I don’t understand how people read that as the pun referring to a particular weakness of Lin’s. It seems pretty clear that in this context Lin is the weakness that led to the team’s defeat - that Lin is the chink. It’s beyond questionable in that context. If the headline was “Turnarounds are the chink in Lin’s armor” it wouldn’t read like they were literally calling Lin a chink, although it would still be an unsafe and lousy headline. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chink-in-the-armor-an-offensive-racist-term/613563/30 "2012-02-21T23:04:24Z")
I thought it was a clever play on words. My Chinese wife agrees. People are \*way \*too uptight nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chink-in-the-armor-an-offensive-racist-term/613563/31 "2012-02-21T23:07:06Z")
In specific reference [to this](http://www.hanminzu.net/bbs/attachments/month_1102/1102282138c67fd5251cf03f0d.jpg), yes. Otherwise, probably not. ---
**Author:** ![Jasper\_Kent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@Jasper\_Kent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasper_Kent)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chink-in-the-armor-an-offensive-racist-term/613563/32 "2012-02-21T23:13:55Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Aside from maybe one or two times in my life, I haven’t ever anyone say “niggardly” unless they were whining about not being able to say it. Exactly. What’s wrong with _ **tight, pennypinching, stingy, miserly, cheap, chintzy, tightfisted, scrimpy** _? ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chink-in-the-armor-an-offensive-racist-term/613563/33 "2012-02-21T23:27:54Z")
> [@Jasper\_Kent](#): > > Exactly. What’s wrong with _ **tight, pennypinching, stingy, miserly, cheap, chintzy, tightfisted, scrimpy** _? My mother uses this word all the time to describe not just budgetary tightness but meager portions of food, someone paying scant attention to her concerns or requests. It was a not particularly uncommon part of my vocabulary by the age of seven or eight, long before any stupid controversy. Why would I subtract an ancient and evocative part of my pre-existing vocabulary when there is no legitimate cause for grievance, but is a deeply stupid illegitimate pretext? That sounds like enabling ignorance, as opposed to my policy of if not fighting it, ignoring it. Or – I get to choose my adjectives unless they are legitimately offensive. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chink-in-the-armor-an-offensive-racist-term/613563/34 "2012-02-21T23:31:09Z")
I don’t know what incident you’re referring to, but no. “Chink in the armour” is not a racist term, and has no allusion or reference to race in it. Whether the incident you’re talking about adds an extra dimension to this, I don’t know, but it could be if referring specifically to a Chinese person, depending on the context. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chink-in-the-armor-an-offensive-racist-term/613563/35 "2012-02-21T23:33:17Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > While I am all for refusing to let ignorance carry the day, let’s be sensible and acknowledge that “niggard” is just not a word you hear very often in modern times. It’s sort of funny to hear people complain about being deprived of the ability to use the word when I’m not sure I’ve ever heard anyone say it unless they were quoting Shakespeare. “Niggard”, yes. But I have heard “niggardly” from time to time; maybe from older people. I’ve never heard anyone under the age of 40 or so use it. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chink-in-the-armor-an-offensive-racist-term/613563/36 "2012-02-21T23:39:11Z")
> [@Jasper\_Kent](#): > > Exactly. What’s wrong with _ **tight, pennypinching, stingy, miserly, cheap, chintzy, tightfisted, scrimpy** _? My mother uses this word all the time to describe not just budgetary tightness but meager portions of food, someone paying scant attention to her concerns or requests. It was a not particularly uncommon part of my vocabulary by the age of seven or eight, long before any stupid controversy. Why would I subtract an ancient and evocative part of my pre-existing vocabulary when there is no legitimate cause for grievance, but is a deeply stupid illegitimate pretext? That sounds like enabling ignorance, as opposed to my policy of if not fighting it, ignoring it. Or – I get to choose my adjectives unless they are legitimately offensive. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chink-in-the-armor-an-offensive-racist-term/613563/37 "2012-02-21T23:53:33Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > I thought it was a clever play on words. My Chinese wife agrees. > > People are \*way \*too uptight nowadays. I think that if you, or friends were to say something like that while watching the game or talking about it at the bar or whatever, it would be somewhat groanworthy/clever in the manner of many puns and jokes that deliberately play on insults/curse words/sexual terms/other offensive terminology. When my brother told me about the headline the other day, I admit, I laughed, _because it was offensive_ and that’s the source of the humour. Which is why it’s misplaced as a newspaper headline - it’s entirely inappropriate, unnecessary, and very likely to offend a lot of people and any journalist ought to know that. So…I chose “depends on context.” In the context that originated this discussion, yes, it’s racist. In the context of a suit of armour, no, it isn’t. Then there’s lots of grey in between. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chink-in-the-armor-an-offensive-racist-term/613563/38 "2012-02-22T00:13:42Z")
In general, it’s a neutral term, but when you use it to refer to someone of Chinese descent, it’s racist. A similar example is “We hit the slopes” when going skiing, but when Robert Duvall says “Scares hell out of the slopes” in \*\* Apocalypse Now\*\*, it’s racist. ---
**Author:** ![Zelkova](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/34f0e0/32.png) [@Zelkova](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zelkova)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chink-in-the-armor-an-offensive-racist-term/613563/39 "2012-02-22T00:26:52Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > I thought it was a clever play on words. My Chinese wife agrees. > > People are \*way \*too uptight nowadays. Ahahaha. The typical usage of the phrase has no racist connotations at all. However, some racists like the phrase for the veil it provides when they can’t stop themselves from using the ethnic slur which is homonymous with the word meaning “a small cleft, rent, or fissure,” so it certainly can be a racist term in some instances. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chink-in-the-armor-an-offensive-racist-term/613563/40 "2012-02-22T00:45:46Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > It was used with a clearly racial connotation. That’s generally considered offensive by a large number of people…including those in charge at ESPN, which took appropriate action after the incident. There was no racist connotation whatsoever. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chink-in-the-armor-an-offensive-racist-term/613563.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chink-in-the-armor-an-offensive-racist-term/613563.md?page=3)