Chops

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /t͡ʃɑps/

Definitions

1. The act of cutting or chopping food or wood with a sharp instrument ; proficiency or skill in playing a musical instrument or performing ; hair that grows on the sides of the face below the ears
2. A swift or forceful downward cut usually made with a blade ; demonstrated ability or technique in music performance ; thick hair growth along the cheeks often styled in various ways
3. A chopping motion commonly used in cooking or woodworking ; the technical expertise shown by a musician ; the side facial hair that frames the jaw and cheeks

Etymology: "Chops" is the plural of "chop" in its older sense of "jaw," and the plural form has taken on a life of its own. Jaws were once called "chops," and the word survives in phrases like "licking your chops" and "chop-fallen," meaning dejected, once a description of a face that had dropped. The plural came to mean the mouth and lips, which is how the musical slang sense arose: a player's "chops" are the lips and mouth used to blow a horn or other wind instrument, and so the phrase came to mean skill or ability on an instrument. The noun meaning a chopping motion, the one given here, is a separate development from the same verb "chop," which is an older and more tangled word with its own history. Its general sense of cutting with a blow is the one behind the chopping action named in the meaning above.

Synonyms: slices, cuts, pieces, sections, segments