Bark is worse than one’s bite, one’s 意為「刀子嘴豆腐心；口惡心善」。這個慣用語於 1600 年代中期開始使用，之前是個諺語，指的就是我們現在常說的「會叫的狗不會咬人」。據狗狗行為學家表示，狗狗吠叫時本身是處於害怕的狀態，而想要咬人的狗則毫無畏懼，具有攻擊性，此時牠們會低吼，不會吠叫。
例句：
- Don’t let John frighten you – his bark is worse than his bite. (別被約翰嚇到了，他這個人刀子嘴豆腐心)
- Mr. Smith may yell a lot, but his bark is worse than his bite. (史密斯先生可能大吼大叫，但他口惡心善)
- Don’t worry about Teresa’s threats. Her bark is worse than her bite and she is really a very nice person. (別擔心泰瑞莎的威脅。她是刀子嘴豆腐心，她其實是個很好的人)