paper tiger
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.23 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Something or someone that appears powerful, strong or threatening but is in reality weak, ineffective, or unable to withstand challenge.
Example Sentences
- "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."
- "Iran is a paper tiger, a postmodern threat: It has many uses but a third Western war against a Muslim country is a bridge too far."
- "Trump also said Russia’s economy was in big trouble and described its military as a “paper tiger”."
Etymology
A calque from Chinese 紙老虎／纸老虎 (zhǐlǎohǔ), a phrase popularized by Mao Zedong, but of pre-modern origin. An English translation first appeared in an book in 1828 by British missionary and lexicographer Robert Morrison.