all mouth and trousers

English

Etymology

mouth, meaning "insolence" or "an insolent person" and trousers, meaning "a pushy sexual bravado". The phrase originated in Northern England.

Adjective

all mouth and trousers (not comparable)

1. (UK, idiomatic) Superficial, engaging in empty, boastful talk, but not of real substance.

Translations

superficial

Finnish: ei suuret sanat suuta halkaise (fi)

German: große Klappe, nichts dahinter (de)

See also

• all hat and no cattle

References

• "All mouth and trousers" in Michael Quinion, Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds, 2004.