sabre-rattling
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary EnglishRelated topics: Militarysabre-rattlingˈsabre-ˌrattling noun [uncountable] PMTHREATENwhen someone threatens to use force but you do not think they are very frightening or serious What the situation calls for is calm discussion, not sabre-rattling.Examples from the Corpussabre-rattling• Q.. Then why all the sabre-rattling?