Saber noise

In Chilean history, Saber-noise or saber-rattling (Spanish: ruido de sables) was an incident that took place on September 3, 1924, when a group of young military officers protested against the political class and the postponement of social measures by rattling their sabers within their scabbards.

The term is now applied generally to cover any indication of military aggressiveness. In a sense, strategically timed war games can serve as an explicit form of saber-rattling, in that the extent of a country's military muscle is put up on display for other countries (namely, adversaries) to see.

Context

In 1924, Chile was in the throes of an economic and political crisis. The economy, heavily dependent on the export of nitrates, was suffering the effects of the discovery of artificial nitrates during World War I. On the other hand, Chile was politically paralyzed by a conflict between President Arturo Alessandri and the conservatively controlled congress, who refused to discuss any of the drafts that he sent them.