wake-up call

noun

1. a telephone call that wakes a person from sleep

2. 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

Joe Freeman, Amnesty International's Myanmar researcher, said the attack "should serve as a gruesome wake-up call that civilians in Myanmar need urgent protection".

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Even though the fire died down and officials said there were no injuries and little damage to speak of, some residents said Thursday was a wake-up call.

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“This shooting must serve as a wake-up call to the far-left that their rhetoric about ICE has consequences…The violence and dehumanization of these men and women who are simply enforcing the law must stop.”

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Liverpool's players were subjected to fireworks let off outside their Istanbul hotel designed to disturb their sleep - but it is a second successive loss that must act as the real wake-up call.

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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem likewise described the Dallas attack as “a wake-up call to the far left,” while Senator Ted Cruz demanded politicians to stop “demonizing” ICE and Customs and Border Protection personnel.

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