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
Slang definitions & phrases for wake-up call

wake-up call

noun phrase

A summons to action; clarion call: The vote should be taken as a wake-up call to the civil rights movement that it better reinvigorate its leadership/ I sure hope this hurricane is a wake-up call (1970s+)


Idioms and Phrases with wake-up call

wake-up call

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.