{"id":2428,"date":"2022-03-14T18:54:48","date_gmt":"2022-03-14T18:54:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=2428"},"modified":"2022-03-14T18:54:48","modified_gmt":"2022-03-14T18:54:48","slug":"calm-before-the-storm-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/calm-before-the-storm-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Calm Before the Storm - Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Are you looking for a way to warn people of incoming danger or bad news? If that\u2019s the case, you could tell them that they are in the <em>calm before the storm<\/em>, and they should expect bad things on the horizon. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.<\/p>\n<h2>Meaning<\/h2>\n<p><strong>\u201c<em>The calm before the storm<\/em>\u201d refers to a period of calm before a situation gets out of control. For instance, if you\u2019re waiting for something bad to happen in the afternoon, the period leading up to the event would be calm, and the event would be the storm. The saying serves as a warning and lets others know that they can expect bad things to happen in the future.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cRight now, it\u2019s the <em>calm before the storm<\/em>. The boss said he\u2019s coming in at 3 pm, and he wants to have a word with all of us; I think he\u2019s angry about last month\u2019s sales figures.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat are we going to do? Mom\u2019s coming home at 4 pm, and if she finds the garden in this mess, she\u2019s going to kill us. Oh well, it\u2019s the <em>calm before the storm<\/em>, so we may as well enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is just the <em>calm before the storm<\/em>. Wait till mom gets home and finds the garage in that state; she\u2019s going to explode.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re waiting for the launch materials right now. As soon as we have the press pack, we\u2019re going to hit the phones hard. It\u2019s just the <em>calm before the storm<\/em> around the office right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-2429\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Calm-Before-the-Storm-300x195.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"195\" srcset=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Calm-Before-the-Storm-300x195.jpg 300w, https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Calm-Before-the-Storm.jpg 429w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-2430\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Calm-Before-the-Storm2-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Calm-Before-the-Storm2-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Calm-Before-the-Storm2.jpg 410w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Origin<\/h2>\n<p>The origin of the phrase \u201c<em>the calm before the storm<\/em>\u201d comes from the maritime industry. In the periods before a storm begins, the air can become eerily still as the pressure changes. Usually, the clouds will start to gather, and the skies turn black, but the atmosphere is calm until the squalls arrive and the beginning of the wind and rain.<\/p>\n<p>This phrase makes its first appearance in writing in the play \u201c<em>The Dumb Knight<\/em>,\u201d written by Gervase Markham and Lewis Machin, in 1601, where it appears as follows.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cColoquintida. Fast lock\u2019d in her bed, with a close ward to devour thee my brave paraquito; but hush, no words, there is a calm before the tempest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The play uses the word \u201c<em>tempest<\/em>\u201d in place of \u201c<em>storm<\/em>,\u201d which is the more common version today.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"English Idioms - the calm before the storm\" width=\"512\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fl4A7hjP3C8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar to Calm Before the Storm<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Quiet before the storm.<\/li>\n<li>Tranquility before the chaos.<\/li>\n<li>Hush before the storm.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phrases Opposite to Calm Before the Storm<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Things are heating up right now.<\/li>\n<li>We have trouble right here.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The calm before the storm.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ways People May Say Calm Before the Storm Incorrectly<\/h2>\n<p>While the saying has its roots in the maritime industry, it has little to do with the weather in the modern language. People use the saying as a warning of impending danger. Therefore, using the saying to describe the weather, while technically correct, is not the most common use of the saying.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Phrase Calm Before the Storm<\/h2>\n<p>You can use the phrase \u201c<em>the calm before the storm<\/em>\u201d when you\u2019re telling someone or other people to prepare for disruptive events or bad news. The phrase suits use in social and professional situations. For instance, if you break the living room window with a baseball, then you\u2019re living in <em>the calm before the storm<\/em> before your parents arrive home and find out what you did to the window. If you\u2019re at home, you could be working in the calm before the storm before the boss arrives in the afternoon to reprimand everyone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Are you looking for a way to warn people of incoming danger or bad news? If that\u2019s the case, you could tell them that they are in the calm before the storm, and they should expect bad things on the horizon. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression. Meaning \u201cThe calm before [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2428"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2428"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2428\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2725,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2428\/revisions\/2725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}