alarm bells start ringing

alarm bells start ringing

Some issue indicates that one should be concerned about a potentially greater problem or troubling situation. Alarm bells started ringing among the board members when sales continued to decline for the second straight If your date asks you to meet in a secluded place, alarm bells should start ringing.
See also: alarm, bell, ring, start
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • warning bells start ringing
  • alarm bells start to ring
  • warning bells start to ring
  • set alarm bells ringing
  • nine tailors make a man
  • hang (one) out to dry
  • hang out to dry
  • hang somebody out to dry
  • hang someone out to dry
  • be ringing off the hook
References in periodicals archive
Alarm bells start ringing with me when I see full-page newspaper adverts saying "Jewellery One Day Antiques Roadshow - Sell For Instant Cash"!
The alarm bells start ringing in neighbouring properties when curtains are hung, electric lights are fitted and toilets flushed in, and outbuildings sit on what used to be flower beds and a lawn!
In many countries around the world, parents can be fined for taking holidays during term-time and systems of monitoring attendance are so watertight that alarm bells start ringing if students miss more than one day.
She discovers from Liz that he has been to the medical centre so alarm bells start ringing. She goes to the house he is renovating and demands answers.
If that is accepted then alarm bells start ringing for Newcastle United whereas Sunderland can take great heart.
EASTENDERS BBC1, 8pm Jane finds Lauren's wedding card just before the service and alarm bells start ringing. Later, she struggles to read her vows and runs out of the ceremony.
Mon-Fri BBC1 Daniel's perturbed when he feels that newbie Franc is muscling in on his territory, but alarm bells start ringing when the French medic gives a patient too much Botox and she's left with a frozen face.
Alarm bells start ringing when Tyrone sees Jason offloading the flooring into a skip.
When Linda pops round and discovers the gun Shazza's been hiding, alarm bells start ringing and she urges her to get rid of the weapon as soon as possible.
"Obviously serious alarm bells start ringing when you come back from Africa feeling unwell because you hear so many horror stories about people contracting diseases out there."
the past year compared with a 2010 statistic of 7.0 per cent, according to the IMF, and then the alarm bells start ringing.
John Short, Chairman of Prudhoe Traders' Association, said: "The position is exactly the same as last time - when you look at what's on offer, the alarm bells start ringing.
On paper a trip to the division's whipping boys might not seem terribly daunting but add to the equation the fact they go to Blundell sands without head coach Russell Earnshaw and alarm bells start ringing.
Alarm bells start ringing as soon as you discover their plans included moving the club to a new out of town stadium and that they recruited a number of unknown South American players.
AWE all experience lapses in memory but when it occurs on a frequent basis, alarm bells start ringing. Try a three-month course of Gingko Phytosome, taking one capsule twice daily with meals.