Idiom
paper tiger
Meaning
Something or someone that appears powerful, strong or threatening but is in reality weak, ineffective, or unable to withstand challenge.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“That loud manager is just a paper tiger.”
“The strict new law is a paper tiger because nobody enforces it.”
“The company threatened to sue us, but they turned out to be a paper tiger with no real legal case.”
“The new security software seemed impressive at first, but it was a paper tiger that failed to stop even the most basic viruses.”
“You should not fear his angry emails, as he is a paper tiger who never actually follows through on his threats.”
“While the dictator’s rhetoric initially terrified the neighboring nations, his military proved to be a paper tiger when the conflict finally began.”
Examples
simple
“That loud manager is just a paper tiger.”
“The strict new law is a paper tiger because nobody enforces it.”
contextual
“The company threatened to sue us, but they turned out to be a paper tiger with no real legal case.”
“The new security software seemed impressive at first, but it was a paper tiger that failed to stop even the most basic viruses.”
“You should not fear his angry emails, as he is a paper tiger who never actually follows through on his threats.”
complex
“While the dictator’s rhetoric initially terrified the neighboring nations, his military proved to be a paper tiger when the conflict finally began.”
Origin
A calque of the Chinese phrase 紙老虎, or zhǐlǎohǔ, the term first appeared in English in 1828 within the work of the British missionary and lexicographer Robert Morrison. While the expression is of pre-modern origin, it gained international prominence in the 20th century after being popularized by Mao Zedong.
Key words
Related idioms
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