Meanings
- pluralplural onlyAll the sounds and activities of preparations for war.
The French armies were not far off, and there were alarums and excursions all along the border.
1898, Henry Augustin Beers, chapter 11, in 18th Century: A History of English Romanticism - broadlyidiomaticpluralplural onlyAny frantic activity.
The various alarums and excursions in The Rock that early evening did not dent attendance at these meetings very much […]
1991, Stephen King, Needful Things1 more example
He had been well aware ever since his coming to Hathelsborough of an atmosphere of intrigue and mystery; every development that occurred seemed to thicken it. . . . It puzzled him, being still a stranger to the habits and customs of these people, to see that life in Hathelsborough went on, amidst all these alarums and excursions.
1922, J. S. Fletcher, chapter 19, in In the Mayor's Parlour
Origin
From a Shakespearean stage direction, indicating that soldiers should march across the stage, blowing bugles and beating drums, etc.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
alarums and excursions. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alarums%20and%20excursions
“alarums and excursions.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alarums%20and%20excursions. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “alarums and excursions,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alarums%20and%20excursions.
Source: alarums and excursions on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.