barking dog never bites

a barking dog never bites

proverb One who regularly makes angry or threatening statements rarely acts upon them. Mr. Stewart may yell a lot, but I doubt he'll do anything to you—a barking dog never bites.
See also: bark, bite, dog, never
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

barking dog never bites

Prov. Someone who makes threats all the time seldom carries out the threats. Old Mrs. Smith keeps saying she'll call the police if we walk on her lawn, but don't worry. A barking dog never bites. My boss threatens to fire me at least once a week, but a barking dog never bites.
See also: bark, bite, dog, never
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • teach a man to fish
  • it takes a village
  • village
  • best-laid plans go astray, the
  • the best-laid plans
  • the best-laid plans go astray
  • the best-laid plans of mice and men
  • for want of a nail
  • For want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse ...
  • an ounce of discretion is worth a pound of wit
References in periodicals archive
Every dog has his day, if you lie down with dogs you will get up with fleas, let sleeping dogs lie, a live dog is better than a dead lion, why keep a dog and bark yourself, a barking dog never bites, love me - love my dog, you can't teach an old dog new tricks, dog does not eat dog (and I thought it was the reverse).
The World according to .. Sid Langley