17
It suddenly intruded upon my attention.
From the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, courtesy Phil Sweet:
The extent to which an intruding noise source penetrates the general ambient noise environment in a community, serves as a useful indicator of the likely reaction of the community to that noise source. Available techniques using this ...
9
I would use interrupt and catch one's attention:
[Merriam-Webster]
interrupt
1 : to stop or hinder by breaking in
// interrupted the speaker with frequent questions
2 : to break the uniformity or continuity of
// a hot spell occasionally interrupted by a period of cool weather
grab/catch one's attention
: to cause one to become ...
9
In answer to your body question, which you expand upon in the tags you choose, there is the transitive multi-word verb jump out at, though I'd rate this as slightly informal.
jump out at: phrasal verb [transitive] ...
jump out at someone: if something jumps out at you, you notice it
immediately
[Macmillan]
So The announcement of the Cricket ...
4
There is obtrude. The verb is not used very much, but the adjectival form, obtrusive, is quite common (and sounds can certainly be called obtrusive).
obtrude verb [ I or T ]
formal uk /əbˈtruːd/ us /əbˈtruːd/
(especially of something unwanted) to make something or to become too noticeable, especially by interrupting:
I don't want ...
4
I'd use - overreacting
o·ver·re·act
/ˌōvə(r)rēˈakt/
verb: gerund or present participle: overreacting
respond more emotionally or forcibly than is justified.
"they are urging people not to overreact to the problem"
3
This sounds like A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, indicating that actual success is preferred over a possible future gain.
> Example Sentence: If you invest this money you might make a fortune; but a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
2
The sound impinges on your attention, which captures the sense of it suddenly acquiring meaning even though it’s been going on all along.
2
I know there is already an accepted answer on this and it's a good one, but I thought I might just give my input anyway.
Might I suggest the phrase:
Caught/Grabbed my attention - to cause one to become interested in something
Def. from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary
1
How about "liminal?" It may be too technical/specialized, but somewhere between the two definitions linked is the suggestion of a gradual awareness that part of your mind has already been processing the sound.
1: of, relating to, or situated at a sensory threshold : barely
perceptible or capable of eliciting a response
2 : of, relating to, or being ...
1
I think there are a couple of proverbs that might get near the sense of what you're going for:
If it ain't broke, don't fix it
Leave something alone; avoid attempting to correct, fix, or improve what is already sufficient (often with an implication that the attempted improvement is risky and might backfire).
I know it’s an ugly-looking antenna, but ...
1
One of the senses in which the fixed expression lexical richness is used is shown in this extract:
[Lexical richness] could [be used to] refer to how language captures
nuances of meaning. [The existence of] several synonyms for the same
concept, each adding another shade of meaning ... (remember, there are
very few 1-to-1 synonyms ...) [constitutes]...
1
Sounds like you are out of your depth.
This is used for a situation that is beyond one's capabilities, which would cover your inability to do the job and also the inability to comprehend it enough to know where to turn for help or how to ask for it.
Similar phrases include "in above your head", or "in over your head".
Entering a field that is new is ...
1
a pitch to to pitch TFD
a sales talk
Informal. to attempt to sell or win approval for; promote; advertise
As in:
to
He gave a pitch to use his product at a sales convention.
1
If you really want something based on straw you might use some variation like "mannequin" or "scarecrow" or something like that. I'd suggest not using "straw-man" that way.
Some other possibilities:
Paste-up
First-draft or even zeroth-draft
Mock-up
Hollywood interface (refers to a chunk of software that has the visible parts but no functionality, based on ...
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