fire a shot across bows (redirected from fire a shot the bows)

fire a shot across somebody's/the bows  (slightly formal)

if you fire a shot across someone's bows, you do something in order to warn them that you will take strong action if they do not change their behaviour Airline staff have fired a warning shot across the company's bows by threatening strike action if higher pay increases are not offered.

See also: across, bow, fire, shot