paper tiger

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.

• "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”."

• sheep in wolf's clothing

• wolf in sheep's clothing

• all bark and no bite
• one's bark is worse than one's bite