shot across the bow

plural shots across the bow · alternative shot across the bows

1. idiomaticA warning that negative consequences will be faced if something is carried out or allowed to continue.

   President [Franklin] Pierce, like a great war ship, fired two shots across the bows of the Congress, to bring matters to.

   1856 March, “Monthly Summary. [United States.]”, in George R[ex] Graham, editor, Graham’s American Monthly Magazine of Literature and Art, volume XLVIII, number 3, Philadelphia, Pa.: George R. Graham, […], →OCLC, page 267, column 1

   5 more examples

   Scientists considered collectively are remarkably single-minded in their views about what is important and what is not. If a graduate student gives a seminar and no one comes or no one asks a question, it is very sad, but not so sad as the question gallantly put by a senior or a colleague that betrays that he hasn't listened to a word. But it is a warning sign, a shot across the bows.

   1979, P[eter] B[rian] Medawar, “What Shall I Do Research on?”, in Advice to a Young Scientist (Alfred P. Sloan Foundation series), New York, N.Y.: Basic Books, →ISBN, pages 13–14

   Though I have fired a few shots across the bows of some of my critics, notably the late Professor Lon Fuller and Professor R[onald] M[yles] Dworkin, I have hitherto made no general comprehensive reply to any of them; I have preferred to watch and learn from a most instructive running debate in which some of the critics have differed from others as much as they have differed from me.

   1992, H[erbert] L[ionel] A[dolphus] Hart, “Postscript”, in The Concept of Law, 3rd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, published 2012, →ISBN, pages 238–239

   That part of the release wouldn't so much be a warning shot across the bow as one aimed right at the bridge, Kealty thought.

   1994 August 17, Tom Clancy, Debt of Honor, New York, N.Y.: G[eorge] P[almer] Putnam’s Sons, →ISBN; republished as Debt of Honor, New York, N.Y.: Berkley Books, 2014, →ISBN

   In fact, many members of Congress sought to influence or halt decision making altogether—firing shots across the bow designed to intimidate the adjudicators before a decision could be made. This sort of interference was and is entirely inconsistent with the rule of law.

   2000, William B. Gould IV, “Congress Instructs the NLRB”, in Labored Relations: Law, Politics, and the NLRB—A Memoir, Cambridge, Mass.; London: MIT Press, →ISBN; 1st paperback edition, Cambridge, Mass.; London: MIT Press, 2001, →ISBN, pages 167–168

   While I'm persuaded by the Chairman's bona fides in this area, I think this is a shot across the bow. I'm sure the Attorney General and his representatives can discern what import and I hope the sentiment of the full Committee are.

   2001 July 10, John Conyers Jr., “Amendment to H.R. 2215 Offered by Mr. Conyers”, in 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act: … Report together with Additional Views: […] (House of Representatives, 107th Congress, 1st Session, Report; 107-125), [Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office], →OCLC, page 107

   Synonyms: warning shot