like a weather vane in a storm
- idiom
- Informal
- Public opinion these days seems like a weather vane in a storm, swaying wildly with each new headline.
Examples
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When it comes to making decisions, he is like a weather vane in a storm—never sticking to one choice for long.
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His opinions change like a weather vane in a storm.
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Her loyalty to different trends is like a weather vane in a storm, shifting every week.
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She reacts like a weather vane in a storm to criticism.
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Her loyalty to different trends is like a weather vane in a storm, shifting every week.
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Public opinion these days seems like a weather vane in a storm, swaying wildly with each new headline.
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When it comes to making decisions, he is like a weather vane in a storm—never sticking to one choice for long.
Synonyms
Likely to change suddenly and become more dangerous
Something that moves and changes direction suddenly and often
Changing up and down often in a way you cannot guess
Antonyms
How Stable
- Informal
Surface Forms
Morphology
like + a + weather + vane + in + a + storm
This is a direct simile: the image of a 'weather vane' turning in a 'storm' maps transparently onto a person who changes direction unpredictably. The meaning is compositionally built from the constituents and follows a common, cross-linguistic metaphorical pattern, so a B1 learner who knows the component words should be able to infer the intended sense.
Etymology
Like a weather vane in a storm comes from a simple image: a weather vane turns and points different ways when a storm blows hard. So calling someone that means they are 'changing unpredictably or frequently'.