cry wolf
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cry
(krī)v. cried (krīd), cry·ing, cries (krīz)
v.intr.
1. To shed tears, especially as a result of strong emotion such as grief, sorrow, pain, or joy.
2. To call loudly; shout.
3. To utter a characteristic sound or call. Used of an animal.
4. To demand or require immediate action or remedy: grievances crying out for redress.
v.tr.
1. To utter loudly; call out.
2. To proclaim or announce in public: crying one's wares in the marketplace.
3. To bring into a particular condition by weeping: cry oneself to sleep.
4. Archaic To beg for; implore: cry forgiveness.
n. pl. cries (krīz)
Phrasal Verbs: 1. A loud utterance of an emotion, such as fear, anger, or despair.
2. A loud exclamation; a shout or call.
3. A fit of weeping: had a good long cry.
4. An urgent entreaty or appeal.
5. A public or general demand or complaint.
6. A common view or general report.
7. An advertising of wares by calling out: vendors' cries at the fish market.
8. A rallying call or signal: a cry to arms.
9. A slogan, especially a political one.
10. The characteristic call or utterance of an animal.
11.
a. The baying of hounds during the chase.
b. A pack of hounds.
12. Obsolete Clamor; outcry.
13. Obsolete A public announcement; a proclamation.
cry down
To belittle or disparage.
cry off
To break or withdraw from a promise, agreement, or undertaking.
cry up
Idioms: To praise highly; extol.
cry havoc
To sound an alarm; warn.
cry (one's) eyes/heart out
To weep inconsolably for a long time.
cry on (someone's) shoulder
To tell one's problems to someone else in an attempt to gain sympathy or consolation.
cry over spilled milk
To regret in vain what cannot be undone or rectified.
cry wolf
To raise a false alarm.
for crying out loud
Used to express annoyance or astonishment: Let's get going, for crying out loud!
in full cry
In hot pursuit, as hounds hunting.
[Middle English crien, from Old French crier, from Vulgar Latin *critāre, from Latin quirītāre, to cry out, perhaps from Quirītēs, public officers to whom one would cry out in times of need.]
Synonyms: cry, weep, wail, bawl, keen2, sob, blubber1
These verbs mean to express strong emotion, such as grief, misery, or pain, by shedding tears or making inarticulate sounds. Cry and weep both involve the shedding of tears: "She cried without trying to suppress any of the noisier manifestations of grief and confusion" (J. D. Salinger). "I weep for what I'm like when I'm alone" (Theodore Roethke).
Wail and bawl refer to loud sustained utterance, as in grief, misery, or fear: "The women ... began to wail together; they mourned with shrill cries" (Joseph Conrad)."Her voice was always hoarse. Her Dad said this was because she had bawled so much when she was a baby" (Carson McCullers).
Keen refers more specifically to wailing and lamentation for the dead: "It is the wild Irish women keening over their dead" (George A. Lawrence).
Sob describes weeping or a mixture of broken speech and weeping marked by convulsive breathing or gasping: "sobbing and crying, and wringing her hands as if her heart would break" (Laurence Sterne).
Blubber refers to noisy shedding of tears accompanied by broken or inarticulate speech: "When he drew out what had been a fiddle, crushed to morsels in the greatcoat, he blubbered aloud" (Emily Brontë).
These verbs mean to express strong emotion, such as grief, misery, or pain, by shedding tears or making inarticulate sounds. Cry and weep both involve the shedding of tears: "She cried without trying to suppress any of the noisier manifestations of grief and confusion" (J. D. Salinger). "I weep for what I'm like when I'm alone" (Theodore Roethke).
Wail and bawl refer to loud sustained utterance, as in grief, misery, or fear: "The women ... began to wail together; they mourned with shrill cries" (Joseph Conrad)."Her voice was always hoarse. Her Dad said this was because she had bawled so much when she was a baby" (Carson McCullers).
Keen refers more specifically to wailing and lamentation for the dead: "It is the wild Irish women keening over their dead" (George A. Lawrence).
Sob describes weeping or a mixture of broken speech and weeping marked by convulsive breathing or gasping: "sobbing and crying, and wringing her hands as if her heart would break" (Laurence Sterne).
Blubber refers to noisy shedding of tears accompanied by broken or inarticulate speech: "When he drew out what had been a fiddle, crushed to morsels in the greatcoat, he blubbered aloud" (Emily Brontë).
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
cry wolf
To raise a false alarm; from the old tale of a boy who played tricks on his neighbors by crying out that a wolf was near.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
Translations
crier au loup