Meaning
To raise false alarms, calling danger too often.
Origin
From Aesop's 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf' (6th century BCE), where a liar's cries go ignored, English by 1590 in a Spenser poem as 'cry wolf. ' A 1692 fable collection cements it.
Variants
- Cry the wolf
Usage Examples
- He cried wolf once too often; nobody came.
- Don't cry wolf unless it's real trouble.
- She's crying wolf again; ignore it.