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"Paper tiger" is a calque of the Chinese phrase zhǐlǎohǔ (simplified Chinese: 纸老虎; traditional Chinese: 紙老虎). The term refers to something or someone that claims or appears to be powerful or threatening but is actually ineffectual and unable to withstand challenge.
What's the meaning of the phrase 'Paper tiger'? A person who appears to have power but is in reality ineffectual. What's the origin of the phrase 'Paper tiger'? 'Paper tiger' is one of several phrases we first heard in Mao's Little Red Book.
something, such as an enemy or foreign country, that seems very strong and dangerous but is really weak and not harmful: The Soviet Union was suddenly revealed as a paper tiger. SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases. Weakness and vulnerability. Achilles heel. at a low ebb idiom. be (only) flesh and blood idiom. be someone's poodle idiom.
a paper tiger. an apparently dangerous but actually ineffectual person or thing. This expression became well known in the West from its use by Mao Zedong, the Chinese Communist leader. In an interview in 1946 , he expressed the view that ‘all reactionaries are paper tigers’.
29 de mar. de 2024 · noun. : one that is outwardly powerful or dangerous but inwardly weak or ineffectual. Examples of paper tiger in a Sentence. The new laws are just paper tigers without any method of enforcement.
24 de ene. de 2021 · The phrase paper tiger denotes a person, country, etc., that appears powerful or threatening but is actually weak or ineffective. This phrase is modelled on Chinese zhǐlǎohǔ, from zhǐ, paper, and lǎohǔ, tiger. These are the earliest occurrences of the phrase paper tiger that I have found, in chronological order:
Grammar Reference. Idioms. Paper tiger meaning. What does the saying 'Paper tiger' mean? Idiom: Paper tiger. Meaning: A paper tiger is a person, country, institution, etc, that looks powerful, but is actually weak. Country: International English | Subject Area: Animals | Usage Type: Both or All Words Used. Contributor: Richard Flynn.
