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.
-
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.
-
Public opinion these days seems like a weather vane in a storm, swaying wildly with each new headline.
-
When it comes to making decisions, he is like a weather vane in a storm—never sticking to one choice for long.
Synonyms
106
7.0
Likely to change suddenly and become more dangerous
6
6.1
Changing up and down often in a way you cannot guess
5
6.7
Something that moves and changes direction suddenly and often
Antonyms
How Stable
467
2.3
49
3.6
9
3.5
82
6.1
- 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'.