Is there an idiom that means to make big claims but have little evidence to support them?
4 Answers
空口无凭,言而无据,无根之论
But you can coin four-character words to express it more accurately. It looks like that you mean academic claims.
Let me have a try:
论訇证寡(The claim is thunderous(figurative), but the evidence is little.)
例句:
像他这样的学术投机分子,才敢在会上作论訇证寡的报告。
Note: Only in writing you can coin such words. Otherwise people won't understand you.
Not sure If 言过其实 can fit. it means a statement surpassing the fact.
or 夸大其词? it means represent beyond the bounds of truth; make an overstatement;
This thread would never be complete without the "urban-dictionary" style (i.e, slang), modern example for such idiom, the good old 吹牛
, or its R-rated version 吹牛逼
.
It generally means to brag about something, which could be true but usually isn't.