an ass in a lion's skin
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
A coward who* hectors, a fool that apes the wise man. The allusion is to the fable of an ass that put on a lion's hide, but was betrayed when he began to bray.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “an ass in a lion's skin” mean?
A coward who* hectors, a fool that apes the wise man. The allusion is to the fable of an ass that put on a lion's hide, but was betrayed when he began to bray.
Is “an ass in a lion's skin” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.