paper tiger
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Calque of Chinese 紙老虎/纸老虎 (zhǐlǎohǔ).
Noun[edit]
paper tiger (plural paper tigers)
- (idiomatic) A seemingly fierce or powerful person, country or organisation without the ability to back up their words; apparently powerful but actually ineffective.
- 2008, Ian Kershaw, "The twisted road to war", The Guardian, 23 Aug 2008:
- The League of Nations was by this time scarcely even a paper tiger, devoid of credibility since its divisions and pusillanimity had been so clearly laid bare following Mussolini's invasion of Abyssinia in the autumn of 1935.
- 2008, Ian Kershaw, "The twisted road to war", The Guardian, 23 Aug 2008:
Translations[edit]
paper tiger
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