cautionary tale

American  

[kaw-shuh-ner-ee teyl] / ˈkɔ ʃəˌnɛr i ˈteɪl /

noun

1. a story, experience, or situation that serves as a warning to others.

   The malware's devastating effect on her files became a cautionary tale about the importance of antivirus software.

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Etymology

Origin of cautionary tale

First recorded in 1810–20

Example Sentences

It’s a cautionary tale about the pitfalls that can accompany good intentions.

From The Wall Street Journal

Spliced into these stories, and to some extent giving the novel its structure, is the cautionary tale of Ford’s failed rubber plantation in Brazil.

From The Wall Street Journal

“The period from 2000 to 2010 is the cautionary tale here,” Colas says of the period when the S&P 500’s annualized returns were negative and it ended the decade below where it began.

From Barron's

Albert Birney, the director, co-writer and star, delivers a black-and-white ode to a previous era’s slippery boundaries between real existence and the 8-bit kind that isn’t quite a cautionary tale, nor does it want to be one.

From Los Angeles Times

Abdel-Fattah, a novelist, lawyer and academic, had been invited to the festival to discuss her latest novel Discipline – which she describes as "a cautionary tale about the cost of silence and cowardice".

From BBC