joint in their armor

[vil]

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to give me your considered opinion concerning my interpretation of the expression in bold in the following sentence?

The Plutocracy, by virtue of is possession of the government raised their taxes. It was the weak joint in their armor. Neither buying nor selling, they had no money nor in the end their land was sold to pay the taxes. (J. London, “The Iron heel”)

joint in their armor = a weak point, a raw spot, the heel of Achilles

Would you tell me whether there is not a redundancy by reason of unnecessary usage of the “weak” in the sentence above?

I know the phrase “find the joint in someone’s armor “ but not “find the weak joint in someone’s armor “.

V.

[JMurray]

It was the weak joint in their armor.

vil.
I'm more familiar with the phrase "... a chink in their armour". In this case "chink" actually means a small gap or fissure, which is clearly a weak point in a suit of armour. I suppose the writer, using the term "joint" which does not necessarily suggest a gap, felt the need to emphasize that it was a vulnerable part of the armour.

not a teacher

[vil]

Hi JMurray,

Thank you for your comprehensive explanation.

V.