awake(n) from (something)
To rouse from something (often sleep). Today, I was awoken from my sleep by my neighbor's barking dog. Awake from your daydreams, class, it's time to talk about the periodic table. While staying on the farm, I was awoken from my slumber by a rooster for the first time in my life.
awaken a sleeping giant
To rouse, provoke, or galvanize the enormous or unstoppable latent power of some person, group, or thing. The political candidate has captured the attention and enthusiasm of young people from many different demographics, awakening a sleeping giant among voters. The country may be neutral, but they have an immense standing army. I fear we may awaken a sleeping giant if we initiate an attack against them. If the prime minister keeps acting in this erratic and dangerous manner, I'm afraid he will awaken a sleeping giant and unify all those countries against us.
be in for a rude awakening
To have some very shocking and unpleasant or unwelcome truth (about something) due to be revealed to one. A lot of people were in for a rude awakening when the crappy high-interest mortgages they bought turned out to be worthless. If you think your computer's default antivirus software is able to deal with all the latest threats on the internet, then you're in for a rude awakening. Sarah thinks she's so smart, but she'll be in for a rude awakening when she starts college at Harvard next month.
rude awakening
The shocking instance of learning the unpleasant or unwelcome truth about a situation. We had a rude awakening when the waiter brought us the bill and we saw how much we had spent on dinner and drinks.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
a rude awakening
COMMON If you have had a rude awakening, you have been forced to realize the unpleasant truth about something. Such details as have emerged about the new economic package suggest that these citizens are indeed in for a rude awakening. Johnson was confident he could make a quick profit. But, instead of quick profits, he got a rude awakening.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012