slow burn

• slow-burn

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slow burn (plural slow burns)

1. (idiomatic) Something that emerges or unfolds slowly or gradually.

   Synonym: slow burner

   • 2012 May 5, Jim Keeble, “I was a slow-burn dad”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     My own very personal journey into the deepest love of all – that of a parent for a child – was a slow burn. But it left me deeply connected to Milo in a way that I never imagined.

   • 2015 April 9, Karl Mathiesen, “Permafrost 'carbon bomb' may be more of a slow burn, say scientists”, in The Guardian‎^[2]:

     The ‘carbon bomb’ stored in the thawing Arctic permafrost may be released in a slow leak as global warming takes hold, rather than an eruption, according to new research. [see title]

   • 2023 August 22, Peter Lewis, “AI is not a one-time bomb, but a slow burn of devastation that is consuming jobs and culture”, in The Guardian‎^[3]:

     Thinking of AI like a bomb makes it seem like something that is deployed in a singular event, albeit one with devastating consequences rather than the slow burn that is consuming jobs and culture.

   1. A gradually increasing expression of emotion, espeically anger or frustration.

      Antonym: outburst

      • 1957 July 1, “Scoreboard”, in Time‎^[4], archived from the original on 19 October 2011:

        In the ninth inning of a game with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Johnny Temple, Cincinnati Redleg second baseman, let a hot grounder sizzle through his legs, looked up to see the Scoreboard flash "error" and began a slow burn.

      • 1976, Alistair MacLean, The Golden Gate, page 125:

        Revson breathed deeply. “I shall try to conceal my slow burn, what the Victorians would call my mounting exasperation. I thought we had parted friends.”

      • 2008 July 25, Ty Burr, “‘Step Brothers’ is crude, rude—and funny”, in The Boston Globe‎^[5] (film review):

        The comedy comes from the patient slow burn of the parents as they try to ignore the explosive belligerence of the boys.

   2. (fiction) A work of fiction with a slow-paced plot; also, such a storyline.
      • 2021 September 6, Zack Handlen, “Rick And Morty ends its fifth season looking for an escape hatch”, in The A.V. Club‎^[6]:

        The second episode of tonight’s two part finale is the culmination of a storyline first introduced way back in the first season (episode ten, “Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind”). That aired over seven years ago. Even shows that pay very close attention to serialization rarely manage that kind of slow burn.

      • 2023 May 2, Cath Clarke, “Wolf Garden review – English rural werewolf horror is a major slow burn”, in The Guardian‎^[7]:

        You might politely describe this werewolf thriller set in the English countryside, in which the werewolf is kept off-camera, as a slow-burn. A devastating revelation awaits us at the end, but for the first two-ish-thirds of the movie we watch a man in a cottage […] looking alarmed and perturbed, possibly having a psychotic breakdown.

      • 2024 June 16, Lucy Popescu, “The Cursed Friend by Beatrice Salvioni review – rebels with a cause”, in The Observer‎^[8]:

        Despite its dramatic opening, this is a slow burn of a novel. Salvioni might not display the flair of [Elena] Ferrante, but Francesca and Maddalena are vibrant characters for whom we quickly root.

      1. (fiction, fandom slang) A romantic story (especially a work of fan fiction) in which the central relationship develops slowly.
         • 2018, Francesca DiPiazza, Fandom: Fic Writers, Vidders, Gamers, Artists, and Cosplayers, page 30:

           Another familiar trope, the slow burn, teases the reader as characters secretly pine for one another . . . for a long time.

         • 2019, Robinwritesallthethings, “porn with plot”, in Lemon, page 62:

           Slow burns are torture. Why wait? I want my characters getting down and dirty ASAP, and there's nothing wrong with that.

         • 2021, Aditi Dubey, “Considering Fanfic”, in Rabbit Hole, number 1, Australian National University, page 33:

           On some nights, I want a good long, juicy 70k word slowburn, mutual pining, angst (with a happy ending, of course, I'm not a monster).

         • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:slow burn.

slow burn (comparative more slow burn, superlative most slow burn)

1. Alternative form of slow-burn.

• “slow burn”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.