sabre-rattling

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See also: sabre rattling

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From the early 20th century, when an officer would threaten to draw his sabre.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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sabre-rattling (countable and uncountable, plural sabre-rattlings)

  1. (idiomatic) A flamboyant display of military power as an implied threat that it might be used.
  2. (idiomatic, figuratively) Any threat, such as one company threatening another with a lawsuit.

Translations

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See also

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Verb

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sabre-rattling

  1. present participle and gerund of sabre-rattle

Adjective

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sabre-rattling (comparative more sabre-rattling, superlative most sabre-rattling)

  1. Bellicose; threatening military action.
    • 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin, published 2003, page 121:
      But it excited much discontent in sabre-rattling court circles which regarded Austrophilia as the most un-French of diplomatic perversions.
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Anagrams

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