cry than wool
- idiom
:
más ruido que nueces
- Despite all her objections, it was more cry than wool at the meeting.
Examples
-
It's just a lot of cry than wool about the new policy.
-
Don't make a fuss; it's all cry than wool at this point.
-
His threats were simply cry than wool and nobody took them seriously.
-
When the team protested the decision, it turned out to be just cry than wool.
-
The complaints about the new rules were just cry than wool, as no real changes were made.
-
All the discussions around the issue were more cry than wool with little action following.
-
His loud arguments turned out to be cry than wool, resulting in no real resolution.
Synonyms
4
9.9
To complain a lot about small things and annoy others
3
3.4
A quiet complaint about something you dislike
1
8.7
Complain a lot in a dramatic way about something that upsets you
A lot of loud complaining but no real action
Antonyms
How Substantial
Surface Forms
Morphology
The item gives a clear comparative cue — 'cry' contrasted with something via 'than' — so a learner who knows 'cry' and the comparative function of 'than' can infer it contrasts noise/complaint with some tangible outcome. However, using 'wool' to mean "substance/result" is a metaphorical and culturally specific mapping (and the phrasing is non‑standard), so the precise sense cannot be fully predicted without prior exposure.
Etymology
The saying cry than wool may come from old markets where a seller's loud cry promised a lot of wool but the sheep gave very little. So the picture of loud talk with little product explains why it now means 'a lot of noise or complaint but little result'.