cry

ask/cry for the moon

to want something that is not possible. There's no point hoping for a permanent peace in the area. It's like asking for the moon. (usually in continuous tenses)

See also: ask, moon

be a far cry from something

to be very different from something. His new luxury mansion is a far cry from the one-bedroom cottage he lived in as a child.

See also: far, from

be in full cry (British & Australian)

to criticize someone or something in a noisy and eager way. The opposition was in full cry over the changes to the education bill.

See also: full

cry your eyes out (informal)

to cry a lot and for a long time. I cried my eyes out when my cat died.

See also: eye

cry like a baby

to cry a lot. When I heard that she was safe, I cried like a baby.

See also: baby, like

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.

See also: wolf

a cry-baby (informal)

someone, usually a child, who cries too easily and too often. Don't be such a cry-baby - I hardly touched you.

cry/sob your heart out (informal)

to cry a lot. Poor little love, her cat died and she's been crying her heart out all afternoon.

See also: heart, sob

a hue and cry

when there is a hue and cry about something, a lot of people complain noisily about it. Local people raised a terrible hue and cry about the plan to close the village school.

not know whether to laugh or cry

to be extremely upset by something bad that has happened. Then they announced that my flight was delayed for ten hours. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

See also: know, laugh, whether

a shoulder to cry on

someone who gives you sympathy when you are upset. My father had just died and I needed a shoulder to cry on.

See also: shoulder

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cry your eyes out

to be extremely unhappy and cry a lot. A friend told me my house was destroyed in the fire, and I cried my eyes out.

Usage notes: sometimes used in the form cry your heart out

See also: eye

cry out for something

to need something badly. The conflict cries out for international action to resolve it.

cry wolf

to ask for help when you do not need it. Growers who cry wolf today about the lack of water will probably be selling their vegetables in a few months. He said the mayor's grim predictions about what would happen if the bill isn't passed amounted to crying wolf.

Etymology: from the children's story “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” in which a boy who was watching some sheep called for help when there was no wolf (= wild animal) attacking them and then got no help when a wolf did attack the sheep because no one believed him

See also: wolf

a far cry from something

very different from something. Playing in a comedy is a far cry from playing a criminal in a mystery.

See also: far, from

not know whether to laugh or cry

to be very upset by something ridiculous. When they announced that my flight was delayed for ten hours, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

See also: know, laugh, whether

a shoulder to cry on

someone who gives you sympathy when you are upset. My father had just died and I needed a shoulder to cry on.

See also: shoulder