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a false alarm

a situation when you think that something bad or dangerous is going to happen but you discover you were wrong. Someone called to say there was a bomb inside the building, but it turned out to be a false alarm.

See also: alarm

a false dawn

something which seems to show that a successful period is beginning or that a situation is improving when it is not. His victory in the French Open proved to be a false dawn after he failed to win another title for the next five years.

See also: dawn

a false economy

something that you think will save you money but which means you will have to spend a lot more money later. She told me that buying a cheap washing machine was a false economy because it was more likely to break down.

a false start

a failed attempt to begin an activity or event. After a false start when he left his first job after only a week, he was offered some modelling work.

See also: start

lull someone into a false sense of security

to make someone feel safe when they are not. Wearing suntan lotion can lull people into a false sense of security and make them spend longer in the sun than they should.

See also: lull, sense

sail under false colours (British & Australian, American & Australian)

to pretend to be something that you are not in order to deceive people. Lewis was sailing under false colours - he never told her he was a journalist.

See also: colour, sail

under false pretences

if you do something under false pretences, you do it when you have lied about who you are or what you are doing. The police charged him with obtaining money under false pretences.