pocket battleship
Preserved but no longer current.
A small, heavily armoured warship built in accordance with the limiting terms of a treaty. By the Treaty of Versailles Germany was forbidden to build battleships of over 10,000 tons. In consequence she constructed several formidable battleships which purported to be within this limit, though it was discovered later that they were not.
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 “pocket battleship” mean?
A small, heavily armoured warship built in accordance with the limiting terms of a treaty. By the Treaty of Versailles Germany was forbidden to build battleships of over 10,000 tons. In consequence she constructed several formidable battleships which purported to be within this limit, though it was discovered later that they were not.
Is “pocket battleship” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.