more cry than wool—much clamor or fuss with insignificant results:
- Her diary was much more cry than wool and Mary MacLane was a startling figure only because the times were so colorless and mild.
more kicks than halfpence —(also: more kicks than half-pennies) more harshness than kindness:
- The life of a boy on board a ship isn’t one to be envied, he is at every one’s beck and call, and gets more kicks than halfpence.