A wake-up call is a telephone call ordered to wake you at a set time. Book a wake-up call, ask for a wake-up call at six.
Phones have made it nearly obsolete, though hotels still offer one. As a figure it means a shock that forces somebody to face a problem, which is now the commoner use.
1nounwake-up callA telephone call ordered to wake you at a set time.
“He asked for a wake-up call at half past five and slept through it.”
wake-up call is a call.
Practised in Hotel & Staying Away