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perfect storm

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Popularized by the book (1997) and movie (2000) The Perfect Storm.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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perfect storm (plural perfect storms)

  1. (meteorology, informal) A powerful hurricane or other major weather disturbance, especially as produced by a combination of meteorological conditions.
    • 1796, William Fordyce Mavor, Historical account of the most celebrated voyages, travels, and discoveries ..., p. 161,
      But on the 24th of April, the wind again blew a perfect storm, and our other ships of the squadron separated, nor did any of them rejoin the commodore.
    • 1914, Samuel Finley Breese Morse and Edward Lind Morse, Samuel F.B. Morse: His Letters and Journals, p. 190,
      Ten o'clock. Beginning to blow hard; taking in sails one after another. — Three o'clock. A perfect storm; the gale a few days ago but a gentle breeze to it.
    • 2014 October 27, Taylor Swift, Imogen Heap, “Clean (Taylor's Version)”, in 1989 (Taylor's Version)[1], performed by Taylor Swift, published 2023 October 27:
      Hung my head as I lost the war
      And the sky turned black like a perfect storm
  2. (figuratively, by extension) A situation in which several problems converge and make everything worse.
    • 1862, Frank Moore, Edward Everett, The Rebellion Record: A Diary of American Events, p. 149,
      They sent a perfect storm of bullets, over, under, and into our men.
    • 2008 June 30, Jim Coyle, “Stormy weather for tourism season”, in Toronto Star, page AA8:
      Tory said he was worried that "a perfect storm" of economic factors could put tourist operators and their communities in peril.

Translations

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