Dictionary

cry wolf en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

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.

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) To raise a false alarm; to constantly warn others about an imagined threat, thereby failing to get assistance when a real threat appears.
   • The newspaper placards that had cried "wolf!" so often, cried "wolf!" now in vain. 1907, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, chapter II, in The War in the Air: […], London: George Bell and Sons, published 1908, →OCLC:
   • 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.” 2021 July 17, Somini Sengupta, quoting Ulka Kelkar, “‘No One Is Safe’: Extreme Weather Batters the Wealthy World”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 30 Jul 2021:
   • The politicians would cry wolf at the slightest provocation so when the real threat appeared no one believed them.
   • The influential tech analyst Ben Thompson has also criticised [Dario] Amodei for crying wolf about the risks of AI, which he describes as a “disaster-porn-as-marketing tool”. 2026 April 18, John Thornhill, quoting Ben Thompson, “Lunch with the FT: Dario Amodei”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 3:
   • […]those who created the worst economic mess in postwar history should be the last people crying wolf 1,000 days into this administration[…] 1983, Ronald Reagan, Presidential Radio Address - 15 October, 1983:
   • […]and the critical sense of the professors counts for little, for they cry wolf too often[…] [1921 [1919], H. L. Mencken, chapter 5, in The American Language, 2nd edition, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 36:

Forms

Relateds

Chicken Little

Translations (17)

te నాన్నా పులి (raise a false alarm) · cmn 狼來了 /狼来了 (raise a false alarm) · de falschen Alarm schlagen (raise a false alarm) · da råbe ulven kommer (raise a false alarm) · sv ropa varg (raise a false alarm) · fr crier au loup (raise a false alarm) · de falschen Alarm auslösen (raise a false alarm) · fi nostaa meteli tyhjästä (raise a false alarm) · it gridare al lupo (raise a false alarm) · es gritar ¡al lobo! (raise a false alarm) · hu farkast kiált (raise a false alarm) · pl podnieść fałszywy alarm (raise a false alarm) · ro striga lupul (raise a false alarm) · nl loos alarm slaan (raise a false alarm) · pl podnosić fałszywy alarm (raise a false alarm) · cs malovat čerta na zeď (raise a false alarm) · fi antaa väärä hälytys (raise a false alarm)

wikipedia: The Boy Who Cried Wolf