125 Crocodile tears
(PW) show of sorrow tat is not really felt
He cried crocodile tears when he discovered that he couldn’t go to the meeting.
(free) An insincere display of grief; false tears.
[From the belief that crocodiles weep either to lure a victim or when eating one.]
an insincere show of grief; false tears
[from the belief that crocodiles wept over their prey to allure further victims]
a hypocritical display of sorrow; false or insincere weeping; "the secretaries wept crocodile tears over the manager's dilemma"; "politicians shed crocodile tears over the plight of the unemployed"
(buzzle) Phony tears, usually shed to manipulate or exploit.
Origin - Sunning crocodiles often keep their mouths wide open and this pressurizes the tear glands to shed tears. It is thought that these fake tears - not produced from any emotional response - help in digesting the meal.
(phraseFinder) To weep crocodile tears is to put on an insincere show of sorrow.
Origin
The allusion is to the ancient notion that crocodiles weep while devouring their prey. Crocodiles do indeed have lachrymal glands and produce tears to lubricate the eyes as humans do. They don't cry though. Whatever emotion they experience when finding and devouring prey we can be certain it isn't remorse. There are reports of references in French that date the belief back to 1230, although I've not been able to confirm those.
The myth appeared in print in 'The Voyage and Travail of Sir John Maundeville', circa 1400: "In that contre ... ben gret plentee of Cokadrilles ... Theise Serpentes slen men, and thei eten hem wepynge." (In that country - there are many crocodiles - These serpents slay men, and then, weeping, eat them)
All of the very early citations refer directly to the myth of crocodiles weeping. It isn't until the 16th century that we find 'crocodile tears' used with our current meaning. Edmund Grindal, Archbishop of York and of Canterbury was the first to use the phrase with the implication of insincerity, in 1563, (re-published in Strype's Life of Grindal, 1711): "I begin to fear, lest his humility ... be a counterfeit humility, and his tears crocodile tears."
