The phrase “calm before the storm” refers to a period of stillness before a period of intense activity or turmoil. It can be positive or negative and is often used interchangeably with similar phrases. The phrase is based on the literal calm before a storm, but can also refer to a symbolic calm or storm. Other similar idioms include “after a storm comes a calm.”
The “calm before the storm” typically refers to a period of relative stillness or relaxation before a period of intense activity or turmoil. This phase of the business can be seen as positive, like the time before a business rush for a company, or negative, like waiting for the rush of patients into a hospital after a disaster. This phrase is typically used as an analogy between the literal calm that can often be felt before the arrival of a powerful weather event and a period of stillness before a flurry of events or excitement.
As an idiom, “calm before the storm” is often used interchangeably with similar phrases that replace the word “calm” with “quiet” or “lull.” Regardless of the exact choice of word, however, the meaning is the same. This phrase refers to a period of calm and tranquility that a person might experience before a period of great activity, although it is not necessarily meant to literally mean that a storm is approaching. Instead, the “calm before the storm” typically refers to a symbolic calm or storm, such as when a parent relaxes before their children get home from school.
There’s also a literal calm before the storm in some cases, which is the basis for this particular idiom. As storms develop and move, particularly storm clouds and large storm fronts, air is typically drawn in from below. This warm, moist air is cooled and moves up through the clouds, leaving a void in its place, which is then filled by warm air from the top of the storm front. When this occurs in the direction a storm is heading, it can produce a calm and peaceful, sometimes eerily calm environment, which is quickly followed by the onset of the storm itself.
There are other similar idioms often used in place of this idiom, including “after a storm comes a calm”. Rather than referring to the sense of stillness that may precede a period of great activity, this instead indicates that after this period of activity there may be another moment of stillness. This later period, however, can be either a positive or a negative concept, as it could indicate a time of peace and relaxation or a time of quiet contemplation of the devastation wrought by a mighty storm. The “calm before the storm” itself, however, is generally viewed as a positive, although it may have ominous connotations for the event to come.
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