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If threat displays do not actually involve combat, why can't an opponent "bluff" and pretend to be stronger than he is? Think of the old "boy who cried wolf" fairy tale. Deceptive signaling will eventually be detected, and if deceptive signaling becomes common, the signals will be ignored, and the deception will be thwarted.

In many cases, the threat display--by its nature--cannot be "faked." Male deer and elk cannot make their antlers look bigger than they really are. Small frogs are physiologically incapable of producing calls that are as low in pitch as those produced by larger frogs. Boxing walnut flies go belly-to-belly on their hind legs, and cannot make their body length seem longer than it really is.

Thus, honest signaling is the rule rather than the exception, and in most cases, the honesty of the signal is linked to the fact that the signal is somehow costly to produce (although not as costly as an all-out fight). Displays that cost nothing are too susceptible to cheating ("talk is cheap.").