“All bark no bite” is an idiom meaning that the people who speak or boast too much about anything in life; might be about an upcoming achievement, are similar top barking dogs in the street who only bark.
All of us come across such people at least once in our lifetime. Such people are similar to people who build castles in the air but these castles disappear once they wake up. Yes it is essential to plan success in life but mere planning is not enough. More than the planning, hard work is what matters when it comes to achieving something.
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This idiom compares an individual with a dog thus proving the value and status of the individual who is just involved in boasting about what he or she is going to achieve. Mere planning is not enough, proper execution of the planning is what matters in the long run. It is essential to part ways with such people before it’s too late.
There is a common saying that you become like the people you stay with. If an individual has such friends who are involved just in the barking/boasting process he or she will consciously or subconsciously become like them only.
But what is good about these people is that they are harmless, they can never hurt anyone. We often hear people saying that I will punish you if you do not complete a given task. But at the end of the day, they do not even scold the individual, forget punishing. At times such impression of all bark and no bite is planted intentionally by the heads of schools and colleges, leaders or by the owners of big industries. The reason is not to instill the feeling of fear among the individuals but to maintain the code and conduct and the decorum of such institutions.
For example, a school or college principal appears to be strict but he or she forms this image for the simple reason that the students follow the rules instead of breaking them. Owners of large business houses or managers have to pose a strict attitude which is sometimes referred to as “all bark no bite” because of the intention of making the workers or laborers work following the code of conduct.
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This idiom can prove to be fruitful if used wisely. Parents for example pose to be very strict in front of their children not because they want to punish their children but because they what a better future for their child and they are only interested in the betterment of the child’s life. When these parents lay down any strict rules, their action can be termed as “all bark no bite” because being whatever no parent can even think of harming their children however tough the situation is. “ All bark no bite “ can thus prove to be fruitful if applied properly.