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Definition of Paper tiger
1. Noun. The nature of a person or organization that appears powerful but is actually powerless and ineffectual. "He reminded Mao that the paper tiger had nuclear teeth"
Definition of Paper tiger
1. Noun. (idiomatic) A seemingly fierce person or thing without the ability to back up their words. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Lexicographical Neighbors of Paper Tiger
Literary usage of Paper tiger
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. Documents of Dissent: Chinese Political Thought Since Mao by James Chester Cheng (1980)
"In my view, it will be overthrown, and it, too, is a paper tiger. ... We have
always regarded American imperialism as a paper tiger. ..."
2. My Summer in the Kitchen by Hetty Athon Morrison (1878)
"SIXTH PAPER. TIGER LILIES "O, woman! lovely woman, nature made thee To temper
man ; we had been brutes without you; Angels are painted fair to look like you ..."
3. Hope for South Africa? by Lewis H. Gann, Peter Duignan (1991)
"Was apartheid South Africa a mighty dragon or a paper tiger? ... But the South
Africa of the paper tiger was portrayed as tottering on the brink of chaos, ..."
4. The Cold War in Asia edited by James G. Hershberg (1996)
"Mao's retreat came as a disappointment to some of his colleagues because of his
earlier claims that the United States was merely a "paper tiger. ..."
5. Deptford.TV Diaries by , deptford.tv (2006)
"This grew out of the paper tiger TV collective who produced public access cable
programs in New York, paper tiger TV launched in 1985 the satellite ..."
6. Searching for Answers: Annual Evaluation Report on Drugs & Crime by DIANE Publishing Company (1993)
"Without the capacity to sanction failures to appear for testing and positive drug
tests, drug testing is a "paper tiger"; clients quickly become aware of ..."
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