frog in a boiling pot
- idiom
- Informal
:
rana en una olla hirviendo
- She realized she had been a frog in a boiling pot, slowly accepting worsening work conditions.
Examples
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Many people ignored the company's decline, like a frog in a boiling pot unaware of danger.
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Many people are like a frog in a boiling pot when it comes to climate change.
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Don't become a frog in a boiling pot; notice the warning signs before it's too late.
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Don't be a frog in a boiling pot and ignore the warning signs!
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Don't become a frog in a boiling pot; observe the subtle changes before disaster strikes.
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She felt like a frog in a boiling pot as the deadlines kept piling up without warning.
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His friends urged him to act before becoming a frog in a boiling pot about his diminishing health.
Synonyms
A person or group that does not react to slow harmful changes until serious damage happens
Antonyms
How Alert
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal image (frog + boiling + pot) directly evokes danger and being cooked, so a learner who knows the words will likely infer a metaphorical threat or harm. However, the specific nuance — failing to notice a gradually increasing danger until it is too late — relies on the cultural 'boiling frog' story and is not fully predictable from the parts alone, so prior exposure is usually needed.
Etymology
The expression frog in a boiling pot comes from a popular story: if you put a frog in a boiling pot and heat the water slowly, the frog will not jump out and is harmed. So the phrase means 'not notice danger as it grows'.