shot across the bow

Language: en

Meaning: (idiomatic)Awarningthatnegativeconsequenceswill befacedif something iscarried outorallowedtocontinue.Synonym:warning shot1856March, “Monthly Summary.[United States.]”, inGeorge R[ex] Graham, editor,Graham’s American Monthly Magazine of Literature and Art, volume XLVIII, number 3, Philadelphia, Pa.: George R. Graham,[…],→OCLC,page267, column 1:President[Franklin] Pierce, like a great war ship, fired twoshots across the bowsof the Congress, to bring matters to.1979,P[eter] B[rian] Medawar, “What Shall I Do Research on?”, inAdvice to a Young Scientist(Alfred P. Sloan Foundationseries), New York, N.Y.:Basic Books,→ISBN,pages13–14: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, ashot across the bows.1992,H[erbert] L[ionel] A[dolphus] Hart, “Postscript”, inThe Concept of Law, 3rd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire:Oxford University Press, published2012,→ISBN,pages238–239:Though I have fired a fewshots across the bowsof some of my critics, notably the late ProfessorLon Fullerand ProfessorR[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.1994August 17,Tom Clancy,Debt of Honor, New York, N.Y.:G[eorge] P[almer] Putnam’s Sons,→ISBN; republished asDebt of Honor‎[1], New York, N.Y.:Berkley Books,2014,→ISBN:That part of the release wouldn't so much be a warningshot across the bowas one aimed right at the bridge, Kealty thought.2000,William B. Gould IV, “Congress Instructs theNLRB”, inLabored Relations: Law, Politics, and the NLRB—A Memoir, Cambridge, Mass.; London:MIT Press,→ISBN; 1st paperback edition, Cambridge, Mass.; London: MIT Press,2001,→ISBN,pages167–168:In fact, many members of Congress sought to influence or halt decision making altogether—firingshots across the bowdesigned to intimidate the adjudicators before a decision could be made. This sort of interference was and is entirely inconsistent with the rule of law.2001July 10,John Conyers Jr., “Amendment to H.R. 2215 Offered by Mr. Conyers”, in21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act:[...]Report together with Additional Views:[…](House of Representatives, 107thCongress, 1st Session, Report;107-125), [Washington, D.C.:United States Government Printing Office],→OCLC,page107:While I'm persuaded by the Chairman's bona fides in this area, I think this is ashot 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.2007, David Geltner, Norman G. Miller, Jim Clayton, Piet Eicholtz,Commercial Real Estate Analysis & Investments, 2nd edition, Mason, Oh.:Cengage Learning,→ISBN, page397:This is often used as a "shot across the bow," warning the borrower how seriously the lender views the default.2007,Jeffrey Toobin, “To the Brink”, inThe Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court, New York, N.Y.:Doubleday,→ISBN; 1st Anchor Books edition, New York, N.Y.:Anchor Books, September 2008,→ISBN,page180:This was ashot across the bowof the Florida justices, a warning against further activism in this case, but one with relatively little practical significance at this late date.2008, Chris Laueret al.,The Management Gurus: Lessons from the Best Management Books of All Time(Soundview Executive Book Summaries)‎[2], New York, N.Y.:Portfolio,→ISBN:Before punishing, place ashot across the bow—provide a clear warning to let people know exactly what negative things will happen should they continue down their current path, but don't actually administer discipline yet.2013,Lucinda Riley, chapter 28, inThe Midnight Rose, London:Macmillan,→ISBN; republished London:Pan Books,2014,→ISBN,page379:Perhaps her refusal to marry him would be theshot across the bowsJack needed to help him face his demons. But somehow she doubted it.

Examples:

EN: Put a shot across the bow of the Ciaiborne.
ES: Pon un balazo en la proa del Claiborne.
EN: Apparently a shot across the bow is insufficiently convincing.
ES: Aparentemente un tiro a proa no fue suficientemente convincente.
EN: - It was a shot across the bow, it was.
ES: - Es una advertencia.
EN: Just a warning shot across the bow.
ES: Sólo una advertencia a través del respeto.
EN: You know, the little shot across the bow that we can provide, we'll vote for Shane.
ES: Así que, aún estamos inseguros, pero votaremos por Shane. ¿No pudieron encontrar una forma menos aparatosa de hacer lo que hicieron?
EN: Bohr's weird new atom and his crazy quantum jumps were a shot across the bow of traditional classical science and the old school reacted angrily.
ES: El extraño nuevo átomo de Bohr y sus locos saltos cuánticos eran un golpe directo a la ciencia clásica tradicional y la vieja escuela reaccionó enojadamente.
EN: That is the first shot across the bow, boys and girls.
ES: Es el primer ataque contra nosotros, chicos.
EN: He contacted air traffic control and told them this was a demonstration; a shot across the bow,so to speak.
ES: Contactó a Control de Tráfico Aéreo y les dijo que era una demostración, un aviso, por decirlo así.
EN: Siccing Lee on the Quorum is only gonna be seen as a shot across the bow.
ES: Azuzar a Lee contra el Quorum será visto como un ataque.
EN: This was clearly designed as a shot across the bow for those who might step forward, those unnamed analysts who said that pressure was put on them by the White House, for example, would think twice about having their own family's name dragged through this particular mud.
ES: Esto, claramente, fue diseñado como una advertencia para quienes podrían atreverse a hablar esos analistas anónimos que decían estar presionados por la Casa Blanca, por ejemplo lo pensarán dos veces antes de mancillar el apellido de su familia con este barro en particular.
EN: - I think it was kind of a brave speech because Mort Walker took it very personally, you know, of Beatle Bailey fame, and a few other bigger names in cartooning took it personally because they viewed it as a shot across the bow of the way they handled their business, the way they handled their cartooning.
ES: Fue un discurso valiente, porque Mort Walker lo tomÃ³ como algo muy personal ya saben, de la fama de "Beetle Bailey" y algunos otros nombres mÃ¡s grandes en dibujos animados lo tomaron como algo personal, ya que lo vieron como una crÃtica fuerte a la forma en que manejan sus negocios, su caricatura.
EN: It is a shot across the bow.
ES: Es una señal de advertencia.
EN: Intel thinks this is just a warning shot across the bow.
ES: Inteligencia cree que esto es solo un disparo de advertencia.
EN: Sometimes you got to fire a shot across the bow showing Dad is not a pushover.
ES: A veces tienes que disparar un tiro de advertencia Mostrando papá no es una presa fácil.
EN: Just a shot across the bow.
ES: Solo es una advertencia.

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