"glass cannon" meaning in English

{
  "antonyms": [
    {
      "sense": "antonym(s) of “gaming”",
      "word": "tank"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From the fact that they are powerful (similar to a cannon) yet are easily breakable (similar to glass).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "glass cannons",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "glass cannon (plural glass cannons)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Board games",
          "orig": "en:Board games",
          "parents": [
            "Tabletop games",
            "Games",
            "Recreation",
            "Human activity",
            "Human behaviour",
            "Human",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Role-playing games",
          "orig": "en:Role-playing games",
          "parents": [
            "Games",
            "Recreation",
            "Human activity",
            "Human behaviour",
            "Human",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Video games",
          "orig": "en:Video games",
          "parents": [
            "Games",
            "Mass media",
            "Software",
            "Recreation",
            "Culture",
            "Media",
            "Computing",
            "Human activity",
            "Society",
            "Communication",
            "Technology",
            "Human behaviour",
            "All topics",
            "Human",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2009 May 23, Eugene Barrett, “Re: DCSS:: need advice”, in rec.games.roguelike.misc (Usenet)",
          "text": "Deep elves die easier than most other races - glass cannons to an extreme extent.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Lizzie Stark, Leaving Mundania: Inside the Transformative World of Live Action Role-Playing Games, Chicago Review Press, page 238",
          "text": "A min-maxer might create a \"glass cannon\" character—one with lots of awesome offenses but next to no defense.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2018 December 9, Drachinifel, 21:35 from the start, in The Drydock - Episode 019, archived from the original on 2022-09-10",
          "text": "Now, both sides had built up their fleet quite extensively with very fast, kind of glass cannon-type destroyers and cruisers in the run-up to the war, buuut the French fleet, at the beginning of World War II, was very definitely - below capital ships, was very definitely a fleet of glass cannons, whereas the Italians, although they had their own share of them, had a number of pretty good designs, like the Zara-class heavy cruisers, so, in destroyers and cruisers, I think the Italians definitely have a qualitative advantage, at least for a good portion of their ships[…]",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A character or unit with strong offensive power but weak defensive capabilities."
      ],
      "id": "en-glass_cannon-en-noun-gvReI8f4",
      "links": [
        [
          "roleplaying game",
          "roleplaying game"
        ],
        [
          "board game",
          "board game"
        ],
        [
          "video game",
          "video game"
        ],
        [
          "character",
          "character"
        ],
        [
          "unit",
          "unit"
        ],
        [
          "offensive",
          "offensive"
        ],
        [
          "defensive",
          "defensive"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "especially roleplaying games; board games; especially roleplaying games; board games",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(especially roleplaying games, board games, video games) A character or unit with strong offensive power but weak defensive capabilities."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "video-games"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "glass cannon"
}

{
  "antonyms": [
    {
      "sense": "antonym(s) of “gaming”",
      "word": "tank"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From the fact that they are powerful (similar to a cannon) yet are easily breakable (similar to glass).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "glass cannons",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "glass cannon (plural glass cannons)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English countable nouns",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English nouns",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "en:Board games",
        "en:Role-playing games",
        "en:Video games"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2009 May 23, Eugene Barrett, “Re: DCSS:: need advice”, in rec.games.roguelike.misc (Usenet)",
          "text": "Deep elves die easier than most other races - glass cannons to an extreme extent.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Lizzie Stark, Leaving Mundania: Inside the Transformative World of Live Action Role-Playing Games, Chicago Review Press, page 238",
          "text": "A min-maxer might create a \"glass cannon\" character—one with lots of awesome offenses but next to no defense.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2018 December 9, Drachinifel, 21:35 from the start, in The Drydock - Episode 019, archived from the original on 2022-09-10",
          "text": "Now, both sides had built up their fleet quite extensively with very fast, kind of glass cannon-type destroyers and cruisers in the run-up to the war, buuut the French fleet, at the beginning of World War II, was very definitely - below capital ships, was very definitely a fleet of glass cannons, whereas the Italians, although they had their own share of them, had a number of pretty good designs, like the Zara-class heavy cruisers, so, in destroyers and cruisers, I think the Italians definitely have a qualitative advantage, at least for a good portion of their ships[…]",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A character or unit with strong offensive power but weak defensive capabilities."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "roleplaying game",
          "roleplaying game"
        ],
        [
          "board game",
          "board game"
        ],
        [
          "video game",
          "video game"
        ],
        [
          "character",
          "character"
        ],
        [
          "unit",
          "unit"
        ],
        [
          "offensive",
          "offensive"
        ],
        [
          "defensive",
          "defensive"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "especially roleplaying games; board games; especially roleplaying games; board games",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(especially roleplaying games, board games, video games) A character or unit with strong offensive power but weak defensive capabilities."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "video-games"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "glass cannon"
}