a rude awakening

Picture acquired from Wikimedia Commons and used with permission. Picture attribution: public domain.

Explanation:

You awaken when you open your eyes after sleeping for some time. Most people have a pleasant (nice) awakening which means they open their eyes, get up, stretch a little, and then have breakfast (or, in my case, dinner). Now, let's say that one day, you open your eyes, and you find a big, ugly, slobbering monster standing in front of your bed. As soon as he sees that you're awake, he screams in your face, then runs into your closet, closing the door behind him! That would be an example of a rude awakening. In the real world, we don't have any monsters living in our closets, but we do have people who tell us things that shock us emotionally. The kind of shock which is the same as the one we would get from seeing a monster.

When someone tells you bad news, and it gives you a mental (mind) shock, we call that situation a rude awakening.

Example:

Gary: Hey John. How's everything?

John: Not too good. I just got some bad news Gary.

Gary: Oh really? What?

John: My father just told me that he's not my real father. It was definitely a rude awakening for me!

Gary: Oh no! That's unbelievable! Then who's your real father?

John: The mailman!

Gary: The mailman?! But how did he become your father?

John: Gary, don't ask stupid questions!

If you want to improve your speaking skills in English, you can practice saying the example conversations on this site. However, if you want speak English clearly, then you should check out the Speak English like an American course (aff).