empty suit

[emp-tee soot]

noun

Slang.

1. an executive, manager, or official regarded as ineffectual, incompetent, or lacking in leadership qualities such as creativity and empathy.

   Their executive search came up with one empty suit after another.

Word History and Origins

Origin of empty suit¹

First recorded in 1950–55; empty ( def. ) + suit ( def. ) (in the sense “faceless decision maker”)

Idioms and Phrases

An unimportant person; also, a phony. For example, Don't pay any attention to him—he's just an empty suit, or She acts as though she knows what she's doing, but she's really an empty suit. This graphic expression calls up the image of an empty suit of clothes. [c. 1970]