warning bells start ringing

warning bells start ringing

Some issue indicates that one should be concerned about a potentially greater problem or troubling situation. warning 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, warning bells should start ringing.
See also: bell, ring, start, warning
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • alarm bells start ringing
  • warning bells start to ring
  • alarm 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
'When firms use terms like 'cheap', 'known technology', proven to produce clean fuel', and 'zero-waste system', warning bells start ringing.
Sabah environmentalists against another coal-fired plant
If, for instance, you always buy things that cost less than $500 (Dh1,830), and make a no more than a couple of transactions a week, warning bells start ringing (metaphorically speaking, of course) if the system logs five back-to-back transactions of $5,000 each.
Facets of financial fortification
When you've known someone a long time and all of a sudden things change, warning bells start ringing - it happened to me in my first marriage.
I KNOW HE'S A LIAR BUT IS HE A CHEAT? DEAR COLEEN; Britain's most straight-talking problem
If warning bells start ringing while you're still in the hairdresser's chair, don't hesitate to stop them immediately.
The unkindest cut?