ENGLISH
REFERENCE

sleeping giant

idiom
Meaning

Someone or something with great, latent strength.


Origin

first recorded 18th c.

A metaphor, maybe derived from Gulliver's Travels (1726), and made popular by the 1970 film Tora! Tora! Tora!, see quotations.

Examples
SIMPLE

That quiet company is a sleeping giant in the tech market.

CONTEXTUAL

Many experts believe the country's economy is a sleeping giant that will soon dominate global trade.

COMPLEX

The political movement, long dismissed as irrelevant by the establishment, proved to be a sleeping giant that eventually reshaped the entire nation.

Anchors to
Related idioms6entries
  1. 01

    gentle giant

    A person or animal of a great size or strength, yet who is of a friendly nature and not aggressive or threatening.

  2. 02

    let a sleeping dog lie

    Alternative form of let sleeping dogs lie.

  3. 03

    let sleeping dogs lie

    To leave things as they are; especially, to avoid restarting or rekindling an old argument; to leave disagreements in the past.

  4. 04

    one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind

    (used imitatively) A cliché used to exaggerate an accomplishment or milestone.

  5. 05

    sleeping at the switch

    Alternative form of asleep at the switch.

  6. 06

    sleeping policeman

    A speed bump.

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