paper tiger

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++ˌpaper ˈtiger noun [countable] an enemy or opponent who seems powerful but actually is not 纸老虎〔指外强中干的敌人或对手〕

Examples from the Corpus

paper tiger• Is it only a paper tiger, or does it really have teeth?• But it remains difficult to see how the paper tiger can avoid being shredded over the next two or three years.• That was only the first occasion that Chairman Khrushchev reminded Chairman Mao that the paper tiger had nuclear teeth.

ˌpaper ˈtiger nounChineseSyllable

actually or seems who but Corpus powerful enemy opponent an

paper tiger
ˌpaper ˈtiger

noun [countable]
an enemy or opponent who seems powerful but actually is not

paper tiger

BrE

/ˌpeɪpə ˈtaɪɡə(r)/

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NAmE

/ˌpeɪpər ˈtaɪɡər/

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noun

a person, a country or a situation that seems or claims to be powerful or dangerous but is not really （指人、国家或局势）纸老虎，外强中干者