Indian summers
Autumn's unexpected heat
An Indian summer is a period of warm, dry weather occurring in autumn after the first frost.
The warmth feels borrowed or unexpected, arriving when cold has already announced itself.
Figuratively, Indian summer describes any late flourishing or revival: an Indian summer of creativity in her seventies.
The phrase dates to 18th-century America; its origin is uncertain.
- warm spellPeriod of mild weather
- interludePause between sections
- autumnalOf the harvest season
- ephemeralLasting very briefly
- balmyMildly warm, soothing
bittersweetness · transience · fleetingness · second chance · last hurrah · borrowed time · spell · late bloom · warmth · golden days · fading light · renewal · seasonal · harvest festival · nostalgia · phenomenon · atmospheric · rural idyll