tidal wave of protest
- noun
:
oleada de protestas
- The government's new policy resulted in a tidal wave of protest from citizens who felt it was unjust.
Examples
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The decision last month to up the acceptable draft age to 35, has triggered a tidal wave of protest.
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After the controversial ruling, activists organized a tidal wave of protest to voice their opposition.
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The community experienced a tidal wave of protest after the announcement of the local factory's closure.
Synonyms
336
3.8
A period when something increases suddenly and affects many people, for example very hot weather
143
4.2
A sudden strong movement forward or upward, like a wave
106
4.8
A strong negative public reaction to an action or change
52
4.6
A strong public protest showing anger or disapproval
36
6.5
A sudden, strong public reaction of anger or criticism
35
6.8
A large fast stream of questions, messages or criticism sent to someone
4
3.6
A sudden very strong emotion or reaction that affects many people
1
3.3
A sudden large amount of criticism aimed at someone or something
A sudden large wave of comments from many people that follows an event
A large number of complaints arriving at the same time
How Widespread
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly inferable from the constituents: 'tidal' (relating to tides) combined with 'wave' (a surge) yields the image of a large overwhelming surge, and 'of protest' specifies the domain. This metaphorical mapping (big surge of protests) is conventional and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the component words will very likely grasp the intended sense.
Etymology
The phrase tidal wave of protest comes from the image of a huge tidal wave crashing onto the shore and carrying everything with it. That image shows why many strong protests that arrive quickly are called a 'tidal wave' — they are 'sudden, large, and overwhelming'.