have more chins than a Chinese phone book
verb · first attested 1981
The joke only works for a reader who knows Chin is a common Chinese surname.
To be very fat, especially under the jaw.
People's Republic of China·People's Republic of China
35.8447°N 103.4519°E · Q148
Record
- Relationship
- From the people of the place
- Confidence
- Well attestedThe place link is the standard scholarly account.
- Usage
- OffensiveWidely regarded as offensive in current use.
- Attested
- 1981
- Part of speech
- verb
Explanations here are written for this atlas. Dictionary text is not copied; the sources are linked so the claim can be checked.
- Step 1
People's Republic of China
- In English
have more chins than a Chinese phone book
The simile puns on a double chin and the surname Chin, and assumes a Chinese telephone directory running to page after page of the same name. Wiktionary labels it humorous and offensive and credits Joan Rivers with popularizing it; its earliest citation is a 1981 Time article about a Rivers television special, with newspaper and book examples through the 1990s and 2000s. The parallel form have more chins than Chinatown does the same work with a different yardstick.