- Meaning
- This idiom refers to raising false alarms or exaggerating dangers so often that people stop believing you when a real threat emerges. It warns against losing credibility through dishonesty or overreaction, drawing from the fable of a boy who repeatedly tricks others. The phrase is used in contexts of warnings, complaints, or attention-seeking, often with a cautionary or critical tone, emphasizing the consequences of eroding trust.
- Origin
- The phrase comes from Aesop’s fable *The Boy Who Cried Wolf* (6th century BCE), where a shepherd boy falsely cries ‘wolf’ to trick villagers, only to be ignored when a real wolf attacks. The fable was translated into English by the 15th century, and the phrase appeared in John Gower’s 1390 *Confessio Amantis*: ‘He crieth wolf.’ By the 17th century, it was a common proverb, as seen in Francis Bacon’s essays. Its use grew in the 19th century, with Charles Dickens and others using it to critique false alarms, and it remains a powerful metaphor for credibility in modern English, especially in media and politics.
- Variants
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- Crying wolf
- Cry wolf too often
- To cry wolf
- Examples
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- He cried wolf about minor issues so often that no one believed him when the real crisis hit.
- She’s crying wolf again with her dramatic complaints, but I doubt it’s serious.
- Don’t cry wolf unless you’re sure there’s a problem, or people will stop listening.
- The media cried wolf too often about the storm, so residents ignored the evacuation warning.
- Crying wolf about every small glitch cost the IT team their credibility with management.
- He learned not to cry wolf after his exaggerated warnings were dismissed during a real emergency.
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