# cry wolf

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/cry-wolf
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To raise a false alarm; to constantly warn others about an imagined threat, thereby failing to get assistance when a real threat appears.

## Examples

- He always cries wolf, so nobody believes him now.
- The security guard cried wolf so many times that when real thieves broke in, no one came to help.
- If you cry wolf about being sick every time there is a test, your teacher will not believe you when you actually have a fever.
- Having cried wolf about budget crises every quarter for years, the director found the board unwilling to listen when genuine insolvency finally loomed.

## Origin

From the fable The Boy Who Cried Wolf, in which a shepherd boy relieves his boredom by repeatedly shouting for assistance against a non-existent predator. The boy finds the resulting community panic to be a source of personal amusement, repeating the performance until the novelty for the villagers is entirely exhausted. When a wolf eventually arrives to consume the flock, the boy's genuine alarms are dismissed as further recreational deception. The villagers, having been inconvenienced by previous false reports, choose to ignore the final, accurate one.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.