The story
From wolf ticket/woof ticket, from woofing (“idly boasting”), from woofing (“(emptily/harmlessly) barking like a dog”). Woof ticket/wolf ticket is attested since the 1960s.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
sell wolf tickets
Today it means: To make threats or boasts, especially if empty and/or if made to intimidate someone. Full definition →