admiral of the Swiss Navy

plural admirals of the Swiss Navy

1. One who appears important but is not.

   He snorted. “President of the City Council? That's like being admiral of the Swiss Navy.”

   2012, Howie Carr -, Hard Knocks

   5 more examples

   When we sailed from San Francisco on the Snark I knew as much about sickness as the Admiral of the Swiss Navy knows about salt water.

   1911, Jack London, The Cruise of the Snark

   When he came to the query, "What is your occupation?" the man of the cloth replied (facetiously, as he thought) , "Oh, I'm an admiral of the Swiss Navy."

   1948, Everett Francis Briggs, New Dawn in Japan, page 105

   Having done so, its Pyrrhic victory put its officers in positions of admirals of the Swiss Navy.

   1952, Frontier - Volume 4, page 12

   Portmann started as a marine biologist (as he remarked, that was rather like being admiral of the Swiss navy), and moved on to studies in comparative zoology.

   2002, Marjorie Glicksman Grene, Randall E. Auxier, Lewis Edwin Hahn, The philosophy of Marjorie Grene, page 80

   “Here comes the Admiral of the Swiss Navy,” remarked the portly, red-faced one, who then proceeded to laugh uproariously at his own wit.

   2012, John Lloyd Wright, My Father, Frank Lloyd Wright