Great cry and little wool.
Meaning: Loud complaints about shearing yield disappointingly meager results, warning against mistaking noise for substance.
Origin: Short for "great cry and little wool, as the devil said when he sheared the hogs." Pigs squeal loudly when handled but give no wool, so the saying describes a great fuss with nothing to show for it. The lawyer Sir John Fortescue used it around 1470, comparing a disappointing royal income to the man who sheared his hog: much cry and little wool.
Equivalents in Italian
- Italian: Assai romor e poca lana, disse colui che tosava la porca (literally: Great cry and little wool, as the man said who shaved the sow)
More proverbs about Human Nature
- Custom is second nature. — Habits ingrained through repetition become as automatic and instinctive as inborn traits.
- Many drops make a shower. — Small, repeated contributions accumulate into something substantial and significant.
- Faint praise is disparagement. — Subtle compliments delivered without genuine enthusiasm become insults through their very…
- Every man hath his faults. — Human imperfection is universal; judging others requires acknowledging your own flaws fir…
- A fool is fulsome. — Excessive praise reveals foolishness, as the wise speak measured words.
- Every man has his hobby-horse. — Everyone pursues their own passionate interests regardless of how peculiar others might f…
From our idioms
- Clouer le bec à quelqu'un — To silence someone completely, usually with an unanswerable reply.
- Se crêper le chignon — To have a furious quarrel — said of women.
- Avoir les yeux de Chimène pour quelqu'un — To be visibly smitten with someone or something.