all mouth and trousers
English
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editFrom mouth, meaning "talk" rather than action, and trousers, presumably at the time of origin, a reference to masculinity, either as trousers as a male item of clothing, or a reference to the genitals.
Pronunciation
editAudio (General Australian): (file)
Adjective
editall mouth and trousers (not comparable)
- (British, idiomatic) Superficial, engaging in empty, boastful talk, but not of real substance.
- Synonyms: (vulgar) all fart and no shit, all fart and no poo
Translations
editsuperficial
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See also
editReferences
edit- Michael Quinion (2004) “All mouth and trousers”, in Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds: Ingenious Tales of Words and Their Origins, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books in association with Penguin Books, →ISBN.