wolf (redirected from throws to the wolves)

A growing youth has a wolf in his belly.

Prov. Young people who are growing fast are hungry all the time. If you doubt that a growing youth has a wolf in his belly, you should see how much my fourteen-year-old cousin eats.

See also: belly, grow, has, his, youth

buy someone's wolf ticket

Sl. to challenge someone's boast or taunt. He wants me to buy his wolf ticket bad. He's such a fighter. He'll buy anybody's wolf ticket.

See also: buy, ticket

cry wolf

Fig. to cry or complain about something when nothing is really wrong. (From the story wherein a child sounds the alarm frequently about a wolf when there is no wolf, only to be ignored when there actually is a wolf.) Pay no attention. She's just crying wolf again. Don't cry wolf too often. No one will come.

See also: cry

cut one's wolf loose

Sl. to go on a drinking bout; to get drunk. I'm gonna go out and cut my wolf loose tonight. You're going to cut your wolf loose too often and really get into trouble.

See also: cut, loose

keep the wolf from the door

Fig. to maintain oneself at a minimal level; to keep from starving, freezing, etc. I don't make a lot of money, just enough to keep the wolf from the door. We have a small amount of money saved, hardly enough to keep the wolf from the door.

See also: door, keep

The wolf is at the door.

Fig. The threat of poverty is upon us. I lost my job, my savings are gone, and now the wolf is at the door.

See also: door

When poverty comes in at the door, love flies out of the window. and When the wolf comes in at the door, love creeps out of the window.

Prov. If a couple gets married because they are in love, but they do not have enough money, they will stop loving each other when the money runs out. You young folks may think you can live on love alone, but when poverty comes in at the door, love flies out of the window. After Susan lost her job, she and her unemployed husband had a big argument. When the wolf comes in at the door, love creeps out of the window.

See also: come, flies, love, out, poverty, window

wolf something down

Fig. to eat something very rapidly and in very large pieces. (As a wolf might eat.) Don't wolf your food down! Liz would never wolf down her food.

wolf in sheep's clothing

Fig. a dangerous person pretending to be harmless. Carla thought the handsome stranger was gentle and kind, but Susan suspected he was a wolf in sheep's clothing. Mimi: Why shouldn't I go out with David? He's the nicest man I've ever met. Alan: He's a wolf in sheep's clothing, Mimi. Can't you tell?

See also: clothing

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a lone wolf

a person who prefers to do things on their own The typical role for Bogart was the Casablanca character, a lone wolf, cynical but heroic.

See plough a lone furrow, a voice in the wilderness

See also: lone

a wolf in sheep's clothing

someone who seems to be pleasant and friendly but is in fact dangerous or evil My next boss, on the surface very warm and charming, proved to be something of a wolf in sheep's clothing.

See also: clothing

a wolf whistle

a whistle (= high sound that is made by blowing air through the lips) that some men do when they see a woman who is sexually attractive She'll get a few wolf whistles if she walks through town in those shorts. (British & Australian)

See cry wolf, keep the wolf from the door

See also: whistle

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 cry heart out, ask for the moon

See also: cry

keep the wolf from the door

to have enough money to be able to eat and live Forty percent of the country's population receive part-time wages that barely keep the wolf from the door.

See also: door, keep

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a wolf in sheep's clothing

someone or something that seems to be good but is actually bad The financial advisor we hired turned out to be a wolf in sheep's clothing who stole from the people he promised to help.

See also: clothing

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: cry