gentle giant

[ jen-tl jahy-uhnt ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a person or animal that may seem intimidating because of great size, strength, talent, influence, etc., but is surprisingly friendly and not aggressive or threatening:
Don’t be afraid of my huge dog—St. Bernards are gentle giants.
A towering figure among scientists, she was a gentle giant who made others feel at home as they learned the profession.

First recorded in 1810–20

The only justice sought by those folks involved a conviction against Wilson for killing the “gentle giant” teen.

And many—if not most minds—Michael Brown will always be a gentle giant.

The six-foot-ten actor plays a gentle giant capable only of saying his own name, which the audience quickly started to chant.

But to be well and truly put in your place, jump into that paradisiacal blue for a close encounter with a gentle giant.

He even auditioned for the role of Fezzik, the gentle giant, in The Princess Bride—but lost out to Andre the Giant.

The great gentle giant had a feeling of sympathy for every living creature.

He remembered the gentle giant picking him up as if he had been a baby and putting him here, but where was here?

“You look a very jemmy young gent, indeed you do,” observed the Gentle Giant, looking up at her as he sat at her feet.

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