cider

All talk and no action. Full of strong words, promises, or intentions, but failing either to act on those words or to achieve results. He keeps threatening to quit if he doesn't get a raise, but I think he's all talk and no cider, considering how long he's been here.

Any distilled alcoholic beverage, such as whiskey, vodka, gin, etc. "Hard" here is a reference to the higher percentage of alcohol in comparison to wine or beer. Primarily heard in US, Canada. I've learned to steer clear of hard liquor if I want to avoid a hangover the next day!

Said of one who talks a lot about something that one has not actually done, or will not actually do. She may brag about donating money to the school, but I know she's all talk and no action. Oh, he's all talk—he's never had to face real danger.

Much discussion but no action or results, as in Don't count on Mary's help-she's all talk, or Dave has been saying for months that he'll get a summer job, but he's all talk and no action . This idiom may have begun life as all talk and no cider, which Washington Irving cited as an American proverb in Salmagundi (1807). However, similar sayings antedate it by many years-for example, "The greatest talkers are always the least doers" (John Ray, English Proverbs, 1670).

Distilled alcoholic beverages, such as gin or whiskey. For example, We're serving wine and beer but no hard liquor. The hard here refers to their high alcoholic content, which is also true for hard cider, although the latter is not distilled but has simply fermented.