Russia`s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 led some to label Russian forces as paper tigers. A retired Canadian officer described “the completely incompetent direction and control of the Russian armed forces over the military operation. The much-vaunted Russian military may not be as invincible as we have believed for several decades. [18] Warrior Maven pointed out that Vladimir Putin “has made a public spectacle of his country`s now operational hypersonic weapons, and Russian state media reports constantly praise new military technologies, tests and advances with drones, bombers, ships and submarines,” but these new technologies are used only in small numbers. while most of the equipment is obsolete. [19] It has been assumed that “Russia`s most important military strength in a long time lies in its ground warfare capability. But does this invasion of Ukraine show that its integrated ground combat capabilities, long considered exemplary, may have been massively overestimated? [20] During their invasion of Georgia in 2008, Russian forces suffered from “command disunity; logistical weaknesses; poorly trained, poorly motivated, poorly led troops; very poor quality of the officer corps; Very poor quality of campaign design and planning ability. They also have very poor integration within and between the armed forces, including the timing of air and ground operations. While Russia has embarked on military reforms and conducted seemingly successful operations in Syria, this campaign has been much smaller than Ukraine`s. [21] Khan also said he would not be bound by the constraints of working in a system set up by aldermen that limits what he can say, just as he limits the city`s inspector general, Joseph Ferguson, who assumed Khan`s duties earlier this year with slightly more power than Khan in an office widely seen as a paper tiger. (The Chicago Tribune) These sample phrases are automatically selected from various online information sources to reflect the current use of the word “paper tiger”. The views expressed in the examples do not represent the views of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us your feedback.

Mao Zedong first presented his idea of paper tigers to Americans in an interview with American journalist Anna Louise Strong in August 1946:[5] In an interview with Strong in 1956, Mao used the term “paper tiger” to describe US imperialism again: In The Resistance to Theory (1982), Paul de Man used the phrase reflecting on the threat that literary theory poses to traditional literary studies in American research. He said, “If a cat is called a tiger, it can easily be rejected as a paper tiger; However, the question remains why people were so afraid of the cat in the first place. [10] Saying taxi apps like Ola and Uber must meet their standards, the RBI said today that it is not a “paper tiger” and will enforce all regulations, whether “good, bad or ugly.” (The Times of India) “Paper Tiger” is a literal translation of the Chinese expression zhǐlǎohǔ (simplified Chinese: 纸老虎; traditional Chinese: 紙老虎). The term refers to something or someone who claims or appears to be powerful or threatening, but is actually ineffective and unable to withstand challenges. The term became internationally known as a slogan used by Mao Zedong, former chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and supreme leader of China, against his political opponents, especially the US government. Zhilaohu is an old saying. Robert Morrison, a British missionary and lexicographer, translated the phrase in 1828 in Vocabulaire du dialecte de Canton as “a paper tiger.” [1] [2] John Francis Davis translated the Chinese expression as “paper tiger” in a book on Chinese history published in 1836. [3] During a meeting with Henry Kissinger in 1973, Mao Zedong claimed in a humorous remark to have invented the English expression, which provoked laughter everywhere. [4] A paper tiger is someone who, at first glance, appears to be in control, but on closer inspection, is completely helpless. From this point of view, “paper tigers” are superficially powerful, but tend to stretch too much, which leads to a sudden collapse. When Mao criticized Soviet appeasement of the United States during the Sino-Soviet split, Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev reportedly said, “The paper tiger has nuclear teeth.” [9] All big cats have a particular mysticism, but perhaps no more than the tiger. China`s People`s Liberation Army, despite its modernization efforts in recent years, has been portrayed as a paper tiger or paper dragon for reasons similar to those of the Russian armed forces.