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hear warning bells
(also warning bells start to ring/sound)
Definition
used to describe a situation when people see signs that something bad has started or is going to happen
For me, the warning bells started to ring when she stopped eating properly and lost all that weight.
(Definition of hear warning bells from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)
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Synonyms and related words:
- beware
- bomb scare
- burglar alarm
- caution n (WARNING)
- caution v
- cautionary
- cautionary tale
- communication cord
- don't you dare
- false alarm
- forewarn
- heads-up
- look out
- One swallow doesn't make a summer.
- raise the alarm
- ring/sound alarm bells
- send a signal to sb
- There's many a slip twixt cup and lip.
- tip-off
- wake-up call
Topic:
Threats and warnings
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