paper tiger
nounEtymology 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.
1
Idiomatic Something or someone that appears powerful, strong or threatening but is in reality weak, ineffective, or unable to withstand challenge.
- 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 August 23, Ian Kershaw, “The twisted road to war”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 05 Jun 2023:
- 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.2010 October 11, Roger Cohen, “Iran, the Paper Tiger”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 11 Feb 2021:
1 more example
- Trump also said Russia’s economy was in big trouble and described its military as a “paper tiger”.2025 September 27, Luke Harding, “Putin preparing to attack another European country, Zelenskyy says”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 05 Nov 2025:
- Related terms
- all bark and no bite, one's bark is worse than one's bite