a hue and cry

hue and cry

A large public protest. The company's decision to send thousands of jobs overseas started a real hue and cry as people threatened to boycott its stores.
See also: and, cry, hue
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

a hue and cry

Fig. a loud public protest or opposition. (See also .) There was a hue and cry when the city government tried to build houses on the playing field. The decision to close the local school started a real hue and cry.
See also: and, cry, hue
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

hue and cry

A public clamor, as of protest or demand. For example, The reformers raised a hue and cry about political corruption. This redundant expression ( hue and cry both mean "an outcry"), dating from the 1200s, originally meant "an outcry calling for the pursuit of a criminal." By the mid-1500s it was also being used more broadly, as in the example.
See also: and, cry, hue
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

a hue and cry

If there is a hue and cry about something, there is a loud protest about it or opposition to it. There probably will be a hue and cry about my suggestion of more power to the police. Our officers prepare, take a test, and accept the results without any hue and cry. Note: Until the 19th century, `hue and cry' was the legal name for the cries of someone who had been robbed and who was calling for others to help. It was an offence for anyone to refuse to join the chase, once they heard the cry. `Hue' comes from the Old French `huer', meaning `to shout'.
See also: and, cry, hue
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

a ˌhue and ˈcry

loud opposition, protest, etc: There was a great hue and cry among the parents when it was announced that the school was to close. If the government raises taxes too much, there’ll be a real hue and cry.This phrase refers to the medieval law ‘hu e cri’, which stated that the public had to chase and try to catch a criminal.
See also: and, cry, hue
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

hue and cry

A public uproar or protest. This term once denoted an English system of apprehending robbers and other criminals. Neighbors and bystanders were obliged to join a “hue and cry,” that is, shout and make other noise while a suspect was chased to the bounds of a manor (hue comes from the Old French huer, “to shout”). Later the term was transferred to any public outcry. John Ruskin used it ironically in Mode Painting (1846): “The public took up the hue and cry conscientiously enough,” meaning they supported the fashionable view.
See also: and, cry, hue
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer

hue and cry

A loud public clamor. The phrase was most usually heard as “raise a hue and cry.” According to old English law, any citizen who heard shouts that a possible lawbreaker was being pursued was required to join in the chase. The phrase is a combination of the Anglo-French hu (a shout of warning) and cri (to cry out).
See also: and, cry, hue
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price
See also:
  • hue
  • hue and cry
  • raise a hue and (a) cry
  • raise a hue and cry
  • a cry from the heart
  • cry from the heart
  • cry over
  • cry over (someone or something)
  • cry foul
  • cry heart out
References in periodicals archive
They said that the children raised a hue and cry while bathing in the canal.
Friend missing, two brothers saved from drowning
The victim pointed out that when she raised a hue and cry, people from the neighbourhood reached the spot.
Woman escapes rape attempt in Multan
Arshad Dad, in a statement, said Aleem Khan had extended full cooperation to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) during investigation instead of making a hue and cry like some other political leaders.
Aleem upholds political norms by quitting as minister: Arshad Dad
Summary: Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], Dec 9 (ANI): While exuding confidence of coming back to power in the state, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday asserted that Congress is distressed and that is why it is creating a hue and cry over EVM malfunctioning and several other baseless issues.
Congress is distressed, will create obstacles at time of counting asserts Shivraj Chouhan
Nasir raised a hue and cry on the road on which the women rushed to help the pregnant lady.
Pregnant woman gives birth in rickshaw
MULTAN -- PTI central leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that the NAB was a constitutional institution and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Shari should not make a hue and cry if it takes action or makes arrests in the province.
Shahbaz's hue and cry against NAB is uncalled for, Qureshi
It is sad to note that many journalists are raising a hue and cry over this issue.
Irresponsible media
While comedy and theatre dominates Edinburgh, music also plays a part and Pat and Greg Kane are making a Hue and Cry about it.
LIVE; HUE AND CRY MUSIC HALL, THE ASSEMBLY ROOMS
to shift it from the laborer who has nothing but his power to toil and sweat, to the man who has a fortune made or inherited, we hear a hue and cry raised.
The tax we love to hate; good or bad? American or un-American? The federal income tax has provoked intense debate, but it has paid for wars and funded America's rise as a superpower. (times past)
"Those programs sold out," said Adams, "and there was a hue and cry from the community to focus on Latin America." AmericArtes, also curated by Adams, is the Kennedy Center's response to that clamor.
AMERICARTES BRINGS A HEMISPHERE OF DANCE TO D.C
That's why he's on an outreach mission to get the word out and job done before there s a hue and cry when an elderly homeowner has more than a cow when the second bill comes in July.
DEP mandates water meter installation
"We have heard a hue and cry for assisted living, so now we're moving into the category," says Gary Carriero, assistant vice president of development.
New York boosts assisted living
When some businesses wanted to fill corporate coffers with frequent-flier miles from their executives' business travels, such a hue and cry emanated from their highly paid personnel that most corporations backed off.
Would you indulge me with some extra credits?
In contrast, a report announcing the colorization of human chromosomes has raised a hue and cry of delight among geneticists-24 hues, in fact.
Bringing bold color to chromosomes
The first survey resulted in a hue and cry that led to a new interest in urban forests among community leaders.
Sizing up city trees