wake (redirected from waking)

get up on the wrong side of bed and get out of the wrong side of bed

Fig. to seem grouchy on a particular day. Did you get out of the wrong side of bed this morning? You are a real grouch.

See also: bed, get, side, up, wrong

in the wake of something

Fig. after something; as a result of some event. (Alludes to a ship's wake.) We had no place to live in the wake of the fire. In the wake of the storm, there were many broken tree limbs.

wake (someone or an animal) up

to cause someone or an animal to awaken. Please don't wake me up until noon. Wake up your brother at noon.

See also: up

wake (up) from something

to awaken from something, such as a sound sleep, sleep, dreams, etc. She woke up from a deep sleep. Elaine woke from her dreams with a start.

wake (up) to something and waken to something

to awaken and face something, such as a problem, sunlight, music, noise, etc. I love to wake up to soft music. We woke to the smell of freshly brewed coffee.

wake someone (up) from something

to awaken someone from something, such as a sound sleep, a nap, dreams, etc. Henry woke Fred up from his dreams. He woke up Fred from a deep sleep.

wake someone up (to something)

to cause someone to become alert and pay attention. (Does not refer to someone actually asleep.) We tried to wake them up to the dangers. Try to wake up the students to their responsibilities.

See also: up

wake the dead

Fig. to be so loud as to wake those who are "sleeping" the most soundly: the dead. You are making enough noise to wake the dead. Stop hollering! You'll wake the dead!

See also: dead

wake up

to awaken; to become alert. Wake up! We have to get on the road. It's time to wake up!

See also: up

wake up and smell the coffee

Prov. Try to pay attention to what's going on. Things have changed around here, Wallace J. Hodder! Wake up and smell the coffee!

See also: and, coffee, smell, up

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a wake-up call  (American & Australian)

an event that warns someone that they need to deal with an urgent or dangerous problem (often + to do sth) The 1971 earthquake was a wake-up call to strengthen the city's bridges. (often + to ) The World Trade Center bombing has served as a wake-up call to the FBI on terrorism.

See also: call

Wake up and smell the coffee!

something that you say in order to tell someone that they should try to understand the true facts of a situation or that they should give more attention to what is happening around them It's time you woke up and smelled the coffee, Don. We're just not getting enough business any more.

See also: and, smell, up

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get up on the wrong side of (the) bed also wake up on the wrong side of (the) bed

to begin the day feeling unhappy and uncomfortable I got up on the wrong side of bed yesterday, and everything that could go wrong did!

Related vocabulary: out of sorts

See also: bed, get, side, up, wrong

in the wake of something

following or as a result of something The airport lowered parking rates in the wake of many complaints from drivers who felt the rates were far too high.

wake up and smell the coffee

to pay attention and do something about a situation Some parents just deny their kids are having problems, and they'd better wake up and smell the coffee.

See also: and, coffee, smell, up

wake up to something

to become aware of something important I wish Dad would wake up to the fact that the car is about to fall apart.

See also: up