false alarms

Noun

false alarm (plural false alarms)

1. (literal) 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
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...
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

   Antonyms:

   real deal