Definition
Gradual but inexorable increase in anger, eventually becoming outright rage or fury; what happens as a patient or slow-witted person figures out what has happened and why it is significant. NOT the insult, but the process that the insult (or other upsetting thing) starts in the victim.
Example Usage
"Beware the fury of a patient man" -- Seneca was talking about the consequences of a slow burn here.
At first Ned liked to think his new girlfriend was popular, but as that progressed to flirty, and then to "widely available even when Ned was right there", he began to do a slow burn about it; finding her topless in the kitchen at a party was the last straw.
She did a slow burn over the fact that her roommate borrowed things, didn't return them, gradually assumed she owned them, and finally began to lend them out and give them away herself.
He dented my car and at first it was no big deal; I left a note on his windshield saying we'd figure out what to do about it, but when I didn't hear from him for months, except promises that we'd get in touch real soon, I started to do a slow burn.
Origin
Urban Dictionary
Related Terms
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See “slow burn” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.
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