Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From the fable The Boy Who Cried Wolf, where a little boy amuses himself by crying "wolf" to see the panic he causes in the community, but consequently does not get help when a real wolf appears.

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Examples

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