false alarm
noun1
A warning signal (such as the call of sentry, the ringing of a bell, or the shriek of a siren) which turns out to have been given erroneously.
- "Then, if they rise, shout the alarm at the top of your voice [...] but be careful not to rouse the camp by a false alarm, for if you do, instead of gaining credit we shall become the jest of the whole force."1895, G. A. Henty, chapter 9, in Wulf the Saxon:
- Pistorius explained that a security alarm in his house had gone off the previous night, and that he had taken a gun downstairs to investigate what turned out to be a false alarm.2013 February 25, David Epstein, “Pistorius: The Man, The Myth”, in Sports Illustrated, retrieved 18 Apr 2015:
2
Broadly, Idiomatic A thing or occurrence which initially causes fear, distress, etc. but which is subsequently recognized as being no cause for concern.
- "This may be a false alarm, or a forged letter," said De Bracy.1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, chapter XIII, in Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC, page 265:
- The terrible announcement that the baby had been taken in the act of putting a doll's frying-pan into his mouth, and was more than suspected of having swallowed a fictitious turkey, glued on a wooden platter! The immense relief of finding this a false alarm!1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Two. The First of the Three Spirits.”, in A Christmas Carol. […], London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 70:
2 more examples
- Cuthbert had often been summoned to her dying bed, only to find that she was alive and well. He expected that this summons would be another false alarm.1905, Fergus Hume, chapter 6, in The Secret Passage:
- Robert Swanson [...] expected civilization to melt down on Jan. 1, 2000 [...] He's not sure yet that Y2K was a false alarm.2000 January 9, “A Night To Remember”, in Newsweek, retrieved 18 Apr 2015:
3
Archaic, Idiomatic A person who pretends to be more accomplished or a thing that seems to be of higher quality than is later found to be the case.
- "I don't believe you're a bank robber, at all! I don't believe you are even a rustler! You're a false alarm!"1911, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 22, in Mavericks:
- "He's an old false alarm, anyway. I'll bet he never heard a real gun go off!"1912, G. Harvey Ralphson, chapter 2, in Boy Scouts in a Submarine:
2 more examples
- "I had a good job, putting in a power plant for his nibs"—he indicated the retreating Gordon with a disrespectful jerk of the thumb—"but I quit [...] Do you think I'd work for this four-flusher if you were in the country?" [...] "You think Gordon is a false alarm?"1913, Rex Ellingwood Beach, chapter 5, in The Iron Trail:
- "I only came over here to see that darned false alarm of a play of mine put on."1921, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter 4, in Jill the Reckless:
- Related terms
- false positive