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Glite Dictionary
🌞 Warm autumn weather 🌅 Renewed success
Indian summer

Indian summer

1 4.1
A late period when someone or something becomes successful again after decline
  • noun
  • /ˈɪndiən ˈsʌmər/
translation icon : renacimiento

Examples

  • I would want to call it Indian Summer, since it is the change from summer to fall that I love so much.

    Blog text (27)

  • After a brief downturn in sales, the company experienced an unexpected Indian summer as their new product became popular among consumers.

  • Following the initial decline in viewer ratings, the television show enjoyed an Indian summer thanks to its compelling new storyline.

  • The artist's career had entered a lull, but her latest exhibition marked an Indian summer of renewed interest and success.

How Successful

Renaissance
18 5.8
comeback
152 3.7
Indian summer
1 4.1
revival
52 4.2

Surface Forms

Indian summer singular
Indian summers plural

Morphology

Indian + summer

The meaning — a late period of renewed success or an unseasonably warm spell after decline — cannot be derived from 'Indian' (pertaining to India) + 'summer' (the warm season). A B1 learner who knows the constituents would likely take it literally (a summer related to India) and not infer the temporal/figurative sense; the idiom is culturally specific and unpredictable.

Etymology

Indian summer uses the picture of that late, unexpected warm spell at the end of the year; like a bright little return of warmth after things had begun to cool down. So, it also means 'a late period of renewed success or activity'.