A wake-up call is a warning sign that something has to change: an unpleasant event that makes you see a problem. You lose a draft, so you start saving copies; the hall is half empty, so the organisers rethink the programme. The literal meaning is alive too: at a hotel you can book a wake-up call for 6:30.
When would you say a wake-up call?
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something is a wake-up call for / to someone; receive / get a wake-up call
- Losing the draft was a wake-up call: I started saving a second copy.
- The empty seats were a wake-up call for the organisers to rethink the programme.
- Could I arrange a wake-up call for six thirty tomorrow morning?
What changed
First versionThe repeated complaints were wake-up call for us, so we changed how we handled bookings.
RevisionThe repeated complaints were a wake-up call for us, so we changed how we handled bookings.
Wake-up call often reads like a fixed label, so the article gets dropped: were wake-up call. But call is a countable noun, one specific signal, so it needs a: a wake-up call. Adding a makes the sentence natural.
A reminder points to something you already know: a reminder to pay the bill. A wake-up call is stronger: after it you see the problem differently and change what you do. Wake up is the verb, to stop sleeping or to finally face reality: It's time to wake up and face the facts.
Your turn
Which event is a figurative wake-up call?
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A missed deadline makes a team change its planning. — The missed deadline made the team rethink its planning, which is a figurative warning. A receptionist phoning at seven is the literal hotel service.
Write about an unpleasant event that made you change one of your habits.
Missing the application deadline was a wake-up call to put important dates in my calendar.
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