slow burn

American  

noun

Informal.

1. a gradual building up of anger, as opposed to an immediate outburst.

   I did a slow burn as the conversation progressed.

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slow burn British  

noun

1. a steadily penetrating show of anger or contempt

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slow burn Idioms  

1. Slowly increasing anger. It is often put as do a slow burn, meaning “gradually grow angrier,” as in I did a slow burn when he kept me waiting for three hours. The burn in this idiom comes from burn up in the sense of “make furious.” The term was first cited in 1938 and was closely associated with comedian Edgar Kennedy.

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Example Sentences

For the group — which includes frontman Raya Garcia, his brother and secondary voice Aidan Raya Garcia, requinto player Jorge Ontiveros Zúñiga and guitarist Edgar Lozoya Verduzco — bringing “Todo ø Nada” to fruition was a total slow burn.

From Los Angeles Times

If Brownell’s comments to Netflix’s inhouse publication Tudum are anything to go by, fans should prepare for a bit of a slow burn — at least by “Bridgerton” standards.

From Los Angeles Times

“We expect a flat initial fiscal envelope, a continued focus on tech and public capex, and reactive guardrails for consumption and property—keeping reflation a slow burn,” MS said.

From The Wall Street Journal

In Barclay’s deft hands, the film traces Preston’s progress from child prodigy to international hitmaker, a journey that feels like a slow burn as filmgoers come to realize the depths of the keyboardist’s personal despair in contrast with the sheer joy of his performance style.

From Salon

“But instead of said hyperscaler slow burn, it’s zoom to the second-order impact of ‘AI disruption’ already hitting bottom lines.”

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• acrimony
• animosity
• annoyance
• antagonism
• displeasure
• enmity
• exasperation
• fury
• hatred
• impatience
• indignation
• ire
• irritation
• outrage
• passion
• rage
• resentment
• temper
• violence