- To Cry Wolf is an everyday expression meaning that if you continually lie to get attention, you will only succeed in being ignored completely.
- The expression comes from one of Aesop's Fables, ‘The Ass and the Purchaser’. Aesop lived between c. 620-560 BCE.
Aesop’s Fable: ‘The Shepherd Boy and the Wolf’
- A shepherd boy was looking after a flock of sheep, but became bored. To amuse himself, he repeatedly went to the nearby village and pretended a wolf was attacking his sheep.
- The villagers rushed out each time to chase away the wolf, only to discover that they had been hoaxed.
- Finally, a real wolf appeared and started to eat the sheep. The shepherd boy ran back to the villagers, crying wolf, but they ignored him, and all the sheep were eaten.
- The moral of the story is that those who repeatedly tell lies, run the risk that eventually, no one will believe them.
Everyday Expressions that come from Aesop