pot-valiant
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pot-valiant
First recorded in 1635–45
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
All his pot-valiant courage sank at the thought of the Isaac Todd, and when the campers ran up a British flag he forbade the display of American colours above Astoria.
From The Story of the Trapper by Laut, A. C.
Now, poor old Mole had on occasions been what is called pot-valiant.
From Jack Harkaway and His Son's Escape from the Brigand's of Greece by Hemyng, Bracebridge
And when next they met, the pot-valiant squireen would chuckle proudly, "Faith, yon was a night."
From The House with the Green Shutters by Brown, George Douglas
If these men just mentioned had been so protected they would not have been killed, however rash or pot-valiant they might have been.
From The Romance of Natural History, Second Series by Gosse, Philip Henry
Valiant or pot-valiant, great was his relief at finding himself clasped, instead of by a loathsome spectre, by a silver-haired man of noble presence, yet with a countenance indescribably haggard and anxious.
From The Twilight of the Gods, and Other Tales by Garnett, Richard
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
