Definition
To raise a false alarm; to constantly warn others about an imagined threat, thereby failing to get assistance when a real threat appears.
Origins
From the fable The Boy Who Cried Wolf, where a little boy amuses himself by repeatedly crying "wolf" to see the panic he causes in the community, but is consequently ignored when he tries to alert them to a real wolf.
In Context
- "The politicians would cry wolf at the slightest provocation so when the real threat appeared no one believed them."
- "The newspaper placards that had cried "wolf!" so often, cried "wolf!" now in vain."
- "[…]and the critical sense of the professors counts for little, for they cry wolf too often[…]"
- "[…]those who created the worst economic mess in postwar history should be the last people crying wolf 1,000 days into this administration[…]"
- "These intensifying disasters now striking richer countries, she said, show that developing countries seeking the world’s help to fight climate change “have not been crying wolf.”"
See Also
- Chicken Little