Chops of the Channel
Preserved but no longer current.
The short broken motion of the waves, experienced in crossing the English Channel; also the place where such motion occurs. In this use, however, the word may be chops, the jaw (see below), be- cause the Chops of the Channel is an old and well-understood term for the entrance to the Channel from the Atlantic.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Chops of the Channel” mean?
The short broken motion of the waves, experienced in crossing the English Channel; also the place where such motion occurs. In this use, however, the word may be chops, the jaw (see below), be- cause the Chops of the Channel is an old and well-understood term for the entrance to the Channel from the Atlantic.
Is “Chops of the Channel” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.