verb phrase🎓 English idiom

cry wolf

to raise a false alarm

What it means

To raise a false alarm or call for help when none is needed. It warns that doing this repeatedly means people will stop believing you when a real problem occurs.

Examples

  • He's cried wolf so often that no one takes his warnings seriously.
  • Don't cry wolf about minor issues, or they'll ignore a real emergency.
  • The town stopped responding after she cried wolf one too many times.
  • If you keep crying wolf, no one will come when you actually need help.

Where it comes from

The phrase comes from Aesop's fable about a shepherd boy who repeatedly fooled villagers with false cries of 'wolf', so they ignored him when a wolf truly came.

Related idioms

#take it with a grain of salt#the early bird catches the worm#throw someone under the bus#once bitten, twice shy

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