calm before the storm
Ominous peaceful pause
The calm before the storm is a period of unusual quiet or stillness that precedes a turbulent or chaotic event.
The phrase originates from the meteorological observation that atmospheric pressure changes can create eerie stillness before severe weather arrives.
In everyday use, it describes any deceptively peaceful moment when trouble is clearly approaching: Everyone knew the budget meeting would be brutal—this coffee break was just the calm before the storm.
- stillnessComplete lack of motion
- eerie silenceUnsettling lack of noise
- hushAbsence of sound
- quietLacking in sound
- lullTemporary period of quiet
foreboding · peace · omen · prelude · harbinger · tension · apprehension · looming · expectant · foreshadowing · respite · anticipation · suspense · thunderclouds · portent · impending doom · buildup · warning
- idiomstime flies, hit the sack, seize the day, ring a bell, break a leg
- Weather Idiomsunder the weather, when it rains it pours, come rain or shine, rain check, take a rain check
calm before the stormchaos
Complete disorder and confusion
turmoil · pandemonium · mayhem · hectic · bedlam
calm before the stormsilver lining
Consolation within misfortune
turning the corner · return to normalcy · resolution · settling down
storm, before, stormy, calmness, calming, storming, snowstorm, calms, storms