Meaning of Idiom ‘Empty Suit’
An empty suit is a person who appears to be a person of authority and importance but who is actually ineffectual, incompetent, or average and unremarkable; a person in a prominent position but who lacks substance, ability, or personality.
In this way, an empty suit is often a way of describing an ineffectual executive in a company. Empty suit can also refer to an unimportant person or phony, or, another in a large group of people who dress as if they are important but are only pretending to be significant.
Empty suit is not a synonym for ‘stuffed shirt’ but both idioms are often used to describe the same type of person.
Want to see more videos from Idioms.Online? Subscribe to our YouTube channel!
Examples Of Use
“The top floor is filled with empty suits. If you want to know what’s going on, you’ll have to ask us down here in the dungeons.”
“I have to go to a boring meeting with a bunch of empty suits. Sometimes I wonder why I took this job.”
“I don’t know how he got elected – just another empty suit in Washington.”
“He’s the boss’s son, an empty suit. He likes to act like he’s in charge but even the boss doesn’t trust him with anything important.”
Origin
Used since around 1950, this idiom alludes to an empty suit of clothes.
More Idioms Starting with E
- Even a Broken Clock Is Right Twice a Day
- Every Name in the Book, been called
- Egg On
- Egg On Your Face, to have
- Eat Up
More Clothing Related Idioms
More Empty Idioms
More Suit Idioms
Discover more from Idioms Online
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.