(one's) bark is worse than (one's) bite

(one's) bark is worse than (one's) bite

One's words or demeanor is worse than one's actual behavior. Mr. Stewart may yell a lot, but his bark is worse than his bite—he's actually helped me carry my groceries many times. Don't worry about Sarah's threats. Her bark is worse than her bite.See also: bark, bite, worse

your bark is worse than your bite

If someone's bark is worse than their bite, they seem to be much more severe or unfriendly than they really are. My bark is definitely worse than my bite. When people get to know me, they'll tell you I'm just a big softy really.See also: bark, bite, worse

someone's bark is worse than their bite

someone is not as ferocious as they appear or sound. A similar association between barking and biting occurs in the proverb a barking dog never bites , which can be traced back through 13th-century French (chascuns chiens qui abaie ne mort pas , dogs that bark don't bite) to Latin (canem timidum vehementius latrare quam mordere , a timid dog barks more furiously than it bites).See also: bark, bite, worse