rattle sabres

English

Verb

rattle sabres (third-person singular simple present rattles sabres, present participle rattling sabres, simple past and past participle rattled sabres)

1. Alternative form of sabre-rattle
   • 1921, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science:

     Those who rattle sabres, I think history has shown, have gained in the long run only hatred or ridicule, or both.

   • 1961, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Foreign Relations, Nominations of W. Averell Harriman, Frank M. Coffin, Philip M. Klutznick and Abram Chayes, page 17:

     Just because the Soviets rattle sabres is no reason why we should rattle sabres.

   • 2015, Fiona Hill, Clifford G. Gaddy, Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin, page 338:

     For its part, the Russian Interior Ministry “used its contacts with its Ukrainian counterparts to identify potential agents and sources,” while the task for the Russian military was “to rattle sabres loudly on the border” for maximum effect.

Anagrams

• saber rattles, saber-rattles, sabre rattles, sabre-rattles