brutum fulmenn.
/ˈbruːtəm ˈfʌlmɛn/ A mere noise; an ineffective act or empty threat.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > danger > threat or threatening > [noun] > a threat > an empty threat
brutum fulmen1603
1603 C. Heydon Def. Iudiciall Astrol. 55 The Councells and decrees of the Church..prooue but bruta fulmina, making vaine cracks without any touch of that which I defend.
a1680 T. Goodwin Wks. (1697) IV. iii. 109 It hath been, Brutum fulmen, to us a Thunderbolt of no force.
1767 J. Wesley Let. 5 Mar. in Jrnl. (1827) III. 266 Till this is done, all you add (bitterly enough) is mere brutum fulmen.
1835 J. W. Croker in Q. Rev. Sept. 550 This rhodomontade..was..a mere brutum fulmen.
1963 Times 8 Mar. 5/4 No legal aid certificate in a limited form could be issued for such a limitation would be brutum fulmen.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1972; most recently modified version published online June 2018).
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