Bluff and bluster
Guardian blogger Seth Freedman makes a schmuck of himself in this piece on Jewish campaigning groups:
It is precisely this kind of vague, indistinct approach to the conflict that has prevented IJV from being taken seriously in the circles it should have been reaching out to from the start. For all its bluff and bluster, it never stood a chance at challenging an august institution such as the BoD. It relied on rhetoric and hyperbole rather than firm positions based on belief and commitment - in short, all mouth and no trousers.
'Rhetoric and hyperbole' translate to 'mouth', yes - but you've got problems if you confuse 'firm positions based on belief and commitment' with the 'trousers' themselves rather than their metaphorical contents.
As the Guardian style guide correctly prescribes:
all mouth and trousers
not "all mouth and no trousers"
It is precisely this kind of vague, indistinct approach to the conflict that has prevented IJV from being taken seriously in the circles it should have been reaching out to from the start. For all its bluff and bluster, it never stood a chance at challenging an august institution such as the BoD. It relied on rhetoric and hyperbole rather than firm positions based on belief and commitment - in short, all mouth and no trousers.
'Rhetoric and hyperbole' translate to 'mouth', yes - but you've got problems if you confuse 'firm positions based on belief and commitment' with the 'trousers' themselves rather than their metaphorical contents.
As the Guardian style guide correctly prescribes:
all mouth and trousers
not "all mouth and no trousers"
posted by Tim Chapman at 11:05 am
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