张牙舞爪 (zhāng yá wǔ zhǎo) — to bare fangs and brandish claws; to act ferociously or threateningly

Definition

Examples

• 他气得张牙舞爪，好像要打人一样。
  Tā qì dé zhāng yá wǔ zhǎo, hǎo xiàng yào dǎ rén yí yàng.
  He was so angry that he bared his fangs and claws, as if he was going to hit someone.
• 那条狗对陌生人张牙舞爪，吓得孩子直哭。
  Nà tiáo gǒu duì mò shēng rén zhāng yá wǔ zhǎo, xià dé hái zi zhí kū.
  That dog bared its fangs and claws at the stranger, scaring the child into tears.
• 尽管他当众张牙舞爪，但大家都看出他只是虚张声势。
  Jǐn guǎn tā dāng zhòng zhāng yá wǔ zhǎo, dàn dà jiā dōu kàn chū tā zhǐ shì xū zhāng shēng shì.
  Although he made threatening gestures in public, everyone could tell he was just bluffing.