Idiom
Heads up
A heads-up is a warning or piece of advance notice. Called out loud, "heads up" tells people to look out for something coming at them.
How people use it
The noun is the most common use today, especially at work: "Thanks for the heads-up," "I wanted to give you a heads-up about the schedule change." It means telling someone early so they can prepare. As a spoken warning, people call "Heads up" when a ball or object is flying toward someone, a lot like "Watch out." As an adjective, heads-up means alert and quick-thinking, as in "a heads-up play." Most style guides hyphenate the noun and adjective and leave the shouted warning as two words.
Also said: give someone a heads-up.
Examples
- Thanks for the heads-up about the road closure; I'll leave for work early.
- Leo gave his team a heads-up that the client might call during lunch.
- "Heads up," the coach yelled as the soccer ball sailed toward the parents on the sideline.
Where it comes from
The shouted warning probably came first, meaning "lift your head and look." It was common in American sports and everyday speech by the early 1900s. The noun sense of advance notice spread in the US in the later 1900s and is now normal in offices and emails in both American and British English.
Check yourself
1. Your manager says, "Just a heads-up, the meeting moved to Friday." What is she doing?
Answer: Giving you advance notice. A heads-up is early information that helps you prepare.
2. Which sentence uses heads-up correctly?
Answer: Thanks for the heads-up about the price increase.. As a noun, heads-up means a warning or advance notice, so thanking someone for one makes sense.
Similar idioms
Word game fan? See every word hiding in HEADS.