a rude awakening If you have a rude awakening, you are suddenly made aware of an unpleasant fact. （对不愉快之事的）猛然觉醒 rude：在这里不是“粗鲁”的意思，而是指“突如其来”“不客气的”。 awakening：醒悟、觉醒。 合起来表示：突然被现实“敲醒”，而这种醒悟是震撼的、不愉快的。 She thought freelancing would be easy, but she had a rude awakening when she couldn't find clients. 她以为自由职业很轻松，结果找不到客户给了她当头一棒。