IdiomDaily Life
French
FrenchFaire le matamore
Meaning: To swagger and bluster without the courage to back it up.
Literally: To play the Matamore
Example: “Il fait le matamore devant ses copains, mais il tremble devant le chien du voisin.” — He acts tough in front of his friends, but he's all bark and no bite when the neighbor's dog shows up.
English equivalent: All bark and no bite
Equivalents in other languages
English: all bark and no bite
Origin: Matamore was the boastful cowardly soldier of Spanish comedy, his name meaning Moor-killer — a claim the character never once makes good. He passed into French theater and then into ordinary speech.
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