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The term was said to have been used since the 60s.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sell_wolf_tickets
Most definitions I've read claim that the original term was "woof tickets" - as in selling something with a bark but no bite.
The theory being that "woof" was misheard as "wolf" eventually it changed over the years.
The idea that it came from the boy who cried wolf does kinda make sense since both are about not being truthful.
But if we look at it more closely, crying wolf is about false warnings of bad things, while wolf tickets is about false good things - so in my eyes they're not a perfect match.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sell_wolf_tickets
I hadn't heard that connection before.
Most definitions I've read claim that the original term was "woof tickets" - as in selling something with a bark but no bite.
The theory being that "woof" was misheard as "wolf" eventually it changed over the years.
The idea that it came from the boy who cried wolf does kinda make sense since both are about not being truthful.
But if we look at it more closely, crying wolf is about false warnings of bad things, while wolf tickets is about false good things - so in my eyes they're not a perfect match.
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