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wake-up call
noun
- a telephone call that wakes a person from sleep
- an event that alerts people to a danger or difficulty
Idioms and Phrases
A portentous event, report, or situation that brings an issue to immediate attention. For example, The rise in unemployment has given a wake-up call to state governments , or The success of the online subscription is a wake-up call to publishers . This metaphoric term originated in the second half of the 1900s for a telephone call arranged in advance to awaken a sleeper, especially in a hotel. Its figurative use dates from about 1990.Example Sentences
“This might be a wake-up call for governments.â€
Con Simpson said the series should act as a "wake-up call" to parents, carers and professionals who worked with children.
The palace has seen its security overhauled with a "very significant upgrade", while it has also been a wake-up call for other stately homes.
If Angel City needed a wake-up call, that might have been it because it was the more dangerous team for long stretches of the game even though San Diego dominated in time of possession.
For them, the game was a wake-up call.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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