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Paper tiger

noun

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Something or someone that appears powerful, strong or threatening but is in reality weak, ineffective, or unable to withstand challenge. idiomatic

    "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."

  2. 2
    the nature of a person or organization that appears powerful but is actually powerless and ineffectual wordnet

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.

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