boiling frog
nounUK /ˈbɔɪlɪŋ ˌfɹɒɡ/ · US /ˈbɔɪlɪŋ ˌfɹɑɡ/
Etymology From a widespread misconception describing a frog slowly being boiled alive. The premise is that if a frog is placed in boiling water, it will jump out, but if it is placed in cold water that is slowly heated, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death.
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Idiomatic, Often A person who, or thing which, is in a gradually worsening situation without any realization of the peril until it is too late.
- Environmental pollution and the overconsumption of nonreplenishable resources is the boiling frog syndrome of the 21st century.
- You can guess what the politicians said back then, too. "Don't worry," I'll bet they claimed, "tax rates will never rise!" It's the Boiling Frog Syndrome all over again.2005, Ric Edelman, “The Greatest Discovery of the 20th Century”, in The Truth about Money, 3rd edition, Emmaus, Pa.: Rodale, Inc., →ISBN, part I (Introduction to Financial Planning), page 26:
4 more examples
- The greatest challenge to an accurate current self-image (that is, seeing yourself as others see you and in a way consistent with your other internal states, beliefs, emotions, and so forth) is the boiling frog syndrome. Several factors contribute to this syndrome. First, people around you may not let you see a change. They may not give you feedback or information about how they see it. Also, they may be victims of the boiling frog syndrome themselves, adjusting their perception daily.2009, Richard Boyatzis, “How and Why Individuals are Able to Develop Emotional Intelligence”, in Cary Cherniss, Daniel Goleman, editors, The Emotionally Intelligent Workplace: How to Select for, Measure, and Improve Emptional Intelligence in Individuals, Groups, and Organizations (The Jossey-Bass Business & Management Series), San Francisco, Calif.: Jossey-Bass, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 244:
- The boiling frog syndrome portrays how people react to change. Dramatic sudden changes instigate resistance and even anger in many individuals. Conversely, people do well at adjusting to slow change that occurs over a long period of time.2010, Anne [Elizabeth] Makzulak, “Green Biotechnology”, in Sustainability: Building Eco-friendly Communities (Green Technology), New York, N.Y.: Facts On File, Infobase Publishing, →ISBN, page 39:
- DotCloud was a "boiling frog." That's how [Solomon] Hykes and early investor Peter Fenton of Benchmark now describe dotCloud as it struggled in 2012. Put a frog in water and gradually heat it, the folk legend goes, and the frog won't notice that it's being cooked until it's too late.2015 July 1, Alex Konrad, “Meet Docker’s Solomon Hykes, the Godfather of Software’s Container Craze”, in Forbes, archived from the original on 02 Jul 2015:
- Look at Facebook: Every company moved their brand presence to Facebook, sending out messages for their customers to receive. Now, you have to pay to send out your messages to people who chose to follow you. [You’ve become] a boiling frog.2016 May 4, Shaun Prescott, quoting Tim Sweeney, “Tim Sweeney Renews Attack on Microsoft’s UWP [Universal Windows Platform]”, in PC Gamer, archived from the original on 06 May 2016:
- Related terms
- camel's nose, salami tactics