brutum fulmen

Etymology
From +, derived from a 1680 pamphlet by Thomas Barlow of that title, originally from a passage of Pliny's Natural History: "hinc bruta fulmina et vana" ("these senseless and ineffectual thunder-claps", intended as a literal description of lightning).

Noun

 * 1)  A judgement without effect.
 * 2)  An empty threat.
 * 1)  An empty threat.
 * 1)  An empty threat.
 * 1)  An empty threat.