the sky is falling

A groundless or absurd conviction that some catastrophic consequence is imminent or underway. Some economists will try to convince you that the sky is falling, when in reality this downturn is just a normal market adjustment. Look, I know you're worried about this disruption to the supply chain, but you're acting as if the sky's falling or something!

sky is falling, the

An absurd belief that disaster is imminent. The term comes from a fable about a chicken who believes the sky is falling when an acorn falls on its head. In various versions, the chicken is called “chicken little” or “henny penny.” Many novels, films, and songs with the title “The Sky Is Falling” have been issued, as well as versions of the story. Among them is a 1943 Walt Disney film, Chicken Little, and a book, The Remarkable Story of Chicken Little, published in 1865. The phrase, now a cliché, remains current. The New York Times op ed page had a piece by Charles M. Blow about social networking that used it: “I am by no means a woe-is-us, sky-is-falling, evil-is-the Internet type” (June 12, 2010).