voice crying in the wilderness

voice crying in the wilderness

One who expresses an unpopular opinion or idea. He was a voice crying in the wilderness as he tried to expose the vast corruption within the organization. She felt like a voice crying in the wilderness as she tried to warn others about the impending economic collapse.
See also: crying, voice, wilderness
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

a voice crying in the wilderness

or

a lone voice in the wilderness

If you describe someone as a voice crying in the wilderness or a lone voice in the wilderness, you mean that they are telling people about the dangers in an important situation or the truth about it, but nobody is paying any attention. Until recently, Dr Seddon's was a voice crying in the wilderness. But people are starting to listen to what he has to say. For years, he was a lone voice in the wilderness, and a lot of it came across as self-serving. But I'll tell you, the man was right. Note: This is from the Bible, and refers to John the Baptist who preached the coming of the Messiah but was often ignored. (Matthew 3:3)
See also: crying, voice, wilderness
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
See also:
  • a voice crying in the wilderness
  • a voice in the wilderness
  • lone
  • (lone) voice in the wilderness
  • wilderness
  • themself
  • give (one) enough rope to hang (oneself)
  • give someone enough rope to hang themselves
  • Johnny One-Note
  • what's the idea
References in periodicals archive
But without his Newsnight platform he's a voice crying in the wilderness, reduced to interviewing himself.
PAXO'S PAP ANY
I hope and pray that NCR donors will continue, and if possible, increase their much-needed support for this "prophetic voice crying in the wilderness."
Donations
Rev Dr Doug Gay, a lecturer in practical theology at Glasgow University, said: "When John the Baptist appears in the New Testament, the Gospel writers associate him with a quote from the prophet Isaiah, who speaks about a voice crying in the wilderness.
JOHN THE BAPTIST SAVED ME A FORTUNE; TYCOON COMPARES FINANCE ADVISER TO PROPHET; Stagecoach boss hails warning; EXCLUSIVE
Mike Whitby is implacably opposed, but he would be a voice crying in the wilderness.
Night-mayor for Whitby! InsideView
Does the response to this appeal indicate a meaningful level of concern among Anglicans, or does the total sum raised imply that Archbishop Fred Hiltz is a still, small voice crying in the wilderness as far as parishioners are concerned?
Still, small voice
On the edge of sleep I heard a voice crying in the wilderness: "I have a dream".
From dreams to reality?
There was one voice crying in the wilderness: journalist Ronald Kessler, who charged that FBI agent morale had collapsed under Freeh and that Freeh was person@ responsible for mishandling key cases.
Freeh ride: in his memoirs, the former FBI director tries to explain away the disasters on his watch
Am I a voice crying in the wilderness or do other Netherton residents feel the same?
You say: Not gear, Ikea
Your comment that the 1911 pistol is the "King of feed-way stoppages" in the Sep/Oct issue of Handgunner gave me hope that maybe I'm not the only voice crying in the wilderness. I share your fondness for the 1911 pistol, and carried one for decades as a Texas police officer--but it was also my observation it was less reliable, out of the box, than practically any other quality semi-auto pistol made.
King of Jams?
In fact his is a lone voice crying in the wilderness.
Letter: Growth is the cause of our problems
Having at times felt like a voice crying in the wilderness, I am absolutely overjoyed to welcome on board not only my Conservative but also my Lib-Dem colleagues in this campaign.
Letter: Post offices aid
Coren's support for Human Life International during its recent convention in Toronto, for example, was like a voice crying in the wilderness. While Toronto dailies reported uncritically on HLI founder Father Paul Marx's so-called anti-Semitism and "homophobia", Coren questioned and refuted the charges.
Michael Coren's refreshing perspective
Even now, corporations feel imposed upon when they are required to make environmental impact statements concerning their intrusion into the natural world." That was a voice crying in the wilderness in 1988.
Canonize Fr. Berry
I FELT I had to write in support of `Frustrated Motorist' (ECHO Letters) as I thought I was a voice crying in the wilderness.
Letter: Road rethink
As Cash says in the liner notes, "At times, I'm a voice crying in the wilderness, but at times I'm right on the money and I know what I'm talking about."
God: Johnny Cash