reality check

reality check idiom
An assessment to determine if one's circumstances or expectations conform to reality, as in Time for a reality check—wasn't this supposed to be a money-making enterprise? [Slang; second half of 1900s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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