All talk and no action
Much discussion but no action or results, as in Don’t count on Mary’s help—she’s all talk, or Dave has been saying for months that he’ll get a summer job, but he’s all talk and no action. This idiom may have begun life asall talk and no cider, which Washington Irving cited as an American proverb in Salmagundi (1807). However, similar sayings antedate it by many years—for example, “The greatest talkers are always the least doers” (John Ray, English Proverbs, 1670).
Read Also:
- All-terrain bike
. Abbreviation: ATB.
- All-terrain vehicle
a vehicle with treads, wheels, or both, designed to traverse varied, uneven terrain as well as roads. Abbreviation: ATV.
- All that glitters is not gold
all that glitters is not gold Things that appear on the surface to be of great value may be quite worthless. Something attractive is not always what it seems, as in This house is really beautiful, but a close look will show dry rot near the foundation—all that glitters is not gold. Aesop stated the […]
- All that
the whole of (used in referring to quantity, extent, or duration): all the cake; all the way; all year. the whole number of (used in referring to individuals or particulars, taken collectively): all students. the greatest possible (used in referring to quality or degree): with all due respect; with all speed. every: all kinds; all […]
- All that jazz
all that jazz noun Body weight; fat or fatness: I have too much avoirdupois, so I’m dieting