cry wolf
to ask for help when you do not need it, so that people do not believe you when you really need help

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

cry wolf
to ask for help when you do not need it, with the result that no one believes you when help is necessary.
She had repeatedly rung the police for trivial reasons and perhaps she had cried wolf too often.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

cry wolf
to give a false alarm, to warn of a danger that is not there
The man is crying wolf. There is no danger that the electrical system will cause a fire.

The man has been crying wolf for many years and now nobody believes him.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

cry wolf
v. phr. To give a false alarm; warn of a danger that you know is not there.
The general said that the candidate was just crying wolf when he said that the army was too weak to fight for the country. (From an old story about a shepherd boy who falsely claimed a wolf was killing his sheep, just to start some excitement.)

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲