cry wolf

cry wolf
cry wolf
Fig. to cry or complain about something when nothing is really wrong. (From the story wherein a child sounds the alarm frequently about a wolf when there is no wolf, only to be ignored when there actually is a wolf.) •

Pay no attention. She's just crying wolf again.

Don't cry wolf too often. No one will come.

* * *
{v. phr.} To give a false alarm; warn of a danger that you know is not there. * /The general said that the candidate was just crying wolf when he said that the army was too weak to fight for the country./ (From an old story about a shepherd boy who falsely claimed a wolf was killing his sheep, just to start some excitement.)

Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.

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  • Cry Wolf — is an expression that means raise a false alarm , derived from the fable The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Cry Wolf may also refer to: In music: Cry Wolf (Venom), 1983 song by Venom Cry Wolf (song), 1986 song by a ha Cry Wolf (Branigan), 1987 song by Laura …   Wikipedia

  • cry wolf — {v. phr.} To give a false alarm; warn of a danger that you know is not there. * /The general said that the candidate was just crying wolf when he said that the army was too weak to fight for the country./ (From an old story about a shepherd boy… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • cry wolf — ► cry wolf raise repeated false alarms, so that a real cry for help is ignored. [ORIGIN: with allusion to the fable of the shepherd boy who deluded people with false cries of ‘Wolf!’] Main Entry: ↑wolf …   English terms dictionary

  • cry wolf — If someone cries wolf, they raise a false alarm about something …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • Cry Wolf — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Cinéma et télévision Cry Wolf est un film américain réalisé par Peter Godfrey en 1947. Cry Wolf est un film britannique réalisé par John Davis en 1968.… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • cry wolf — phrasal Etymology: so called fr. the fable of the shepherd boy who gave the alarm of “wolf” in fun : to give alarm without occasion * * * cry wolf To give a false alarm, from the story of the boy who cried ‘Wolf’ when there was none, and was not… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Cry Wolf — Filmdaten Deutscher Titel Cry Wolf Produktionsland USA …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • cry wolf —    If someone cries wolf, they raise a false alarm about something.   (Dorking School Dictionary)    ***    To cry wolf is to call for help when you are not really in danger. As a result, nobody believes you when you really need help.     There s …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

  • cry wolf — verb To raise a false alarm; to constantly warn others about an imagined threat, thereby failing to get assistance when a real threat appears. The politicians would cry wolf at the slightest provocation so when the real threat appeared no one… …   Wiktionary

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