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all bark and no bite. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
all bark and no bite, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
all bark and no bite in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
all bark and no bite you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Pronunciation
Adjective
all bark and no bite (not comparable)
- (idiomatic) Full of big talk but lacking action, power, or substance; pretentious.
- (idiomatic) Often making cutting remarks, but having a gentle personality underneath.
- (idiomatic) Aggressive but never combative.
- 2008, Wally Lamb, The Hour I First Believed, Ch.1, at p.28:
- The phrase "all bark, no bite" could have been coined for our mutts; couple of wimps, those two.
Translations
full of big talk
- Catalan: moltes bufes i pocs trons, molta fressa i poca endreça
- Chinese:
- Cantonese: 光說不做 / 光说不做 (gwong1 syut3 bat1 zou6)
- Mandarin: 乾打雷，不下雨 / 干打雷，不下雨, 光說不做 / 光说不做 (zh) (guāngshuōbùzuò)
- Finnish: paljon porua, vähän villoja
- French: grande gueule (fr)
- German: große Klappe und nichts dahinter
- Greek: όλο λόγια (ólo lógia)
- Hebrew: כלב נובח אינו נושך (he) (a dog that barks, does not bite)
- Indonesian: tong kosong nyaring bunyinya (id) (empty cans make the loudest noises)
- Italian: tutto fumo e niente arrosto (all smoke and no roast)
- Japanese: 張り子の虎 (はりこのとら, hariko no tora) (papier-mâché tiger)
- Khmer: ឆ្កែព្រុសមិនដែលខាំ (chkaepruhmɨndaelkham)
- Polish: krowa, która dużo ryczy, mało mleka daje (pl) (a cow that moos much, gives little milk)
- Portuguese: cão que ladra não morde (pt), cão que late não morde (a dog that barks does not bite)
- Russian: пуста́я бо́чка гро́мче греми́т (pustája bóčka grómče gremít) (empty barrel rattles louder)
- Slovenian: peš, ki laja, ne griže
- Spanish: mucho ruido y pocas nueces (much noise and few nuts), ladra pero no muerde, irse la fuerza por la boca
- Swedish: stor i orden men liten på jorden
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See also