soft ribs
n.pl.— «“Canada has “soft ribs’” said Mr. Chen, 38, using a colloquialism that means it doesn’t have much armour around its sensitive state organs.» —“Canada called easy target for spies” by Colin Freeze Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada) June 6, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Dale from Huntsville, Alabama, recalls a colleague in Québec dissing imitation maple syrup as lamppost syrup. Indeed, the phrase sirop de poteau, or “pole syrup,” is a disdainful reference used by French-speaking Canadians referring to the weak...
In the 1920s, a crossword-puzzle craze swept across the United States. The pastime became wildly popular, and even inspired a Broadway musical, Puzzles of 1925. The fad spread through Canada and England, and the Wimbledon Public Library even removed...