ProverbCommunicationInternational origin

The louder the thunder, the less the rain

Meaning: The most dramatic announcements often yield the least substance.

Origin: Credited to Urdu and Italian tradition, but the image is common elsewhere too: Chinese has léi shēng dà, yǔ diǎn xiǎo — loud thunder, small raindrops — and English has "big thunder, little rain." All mean that big talk usually brings little action.

Equivalents in German

  • German: Viel Geschrei und wenig Wolle (literally: Much bleating and little wool)

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