sabre-rattle

From the early 20th century, when an officer would threaten to draw his sabre.

• sabre rattle, saber-rattle, saber rattle, rattle the sabre, rattle the saber, rattle a sabre, rattle a saber, rattle one's sabre, rattle one's saber

sabre-rattle (third-person singular simple present sabre-rattles, present participle sabre-rattling, simple past and past participle sabre-rattled)

1. To threaten a big battle or war.
   • 1969, Lawrence Edmund Spivak, Meet the Press: America's Press Conference of the Air:

     Then you speak of "the President's spread-eagle patriotism," his delight in "barnyard language," his "readiness to sabre-rattle at the ripple of a flag,"

   • 1980, Optical Spectra - Volume 14, page 164:

     The Chinese and the Russians sabre-rattle like mad against each other, but they both seem to be super-practical countries in that they trade with each other when they need to.

   • 1991, Robert Arthur Lee, ‎Peter Lawrence, Politics at work, page 91:

     Do I want to change group norms (say to get higher output, or acceptance of change) or just sabre-rattle?

   • 2013, John Andrew Fredrick, The King of Good Intentions, page 105:

     If I go in all confident, all don't-even-think-of-fucking-with-me, they'll rabble-rouse and sabre-rattle to beat the band.