Braggadocio is
a cowardly but boastful man who appears as a stock character in many
comedies; or the empty boasting typical of such a braggart. This sort of
character was known in Greek comedy as the alazon. When he is a soldier, he is
often referred to as the miles gloriosus (Vainglorious soldier) after the title
of a comedy by the Roman dramatist Plautus. The most famous example in English
drama is Shakespeare's Falstaff.