Ill-tempered, aggressive, or irritable, especially in a petty or quarrelsome way. In British English, can also refer to a fish and chip shop.
From chip meaning 'to cut small pieces' plus -y suffix. The aggressive sense comes from 'having a chip on one's shoulder', meaning being ready to fight. The British shop sense comes from selling chips (French fries).
The phrase 'chip on your shoulder' comes from 19th-century America where boys would literally place wood chips on their shoulders and dare others to knock them off to start a fight! This playground challenge evolved into our modern expression for defensiveness.
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