slow-burningadj.
/ˌsləʊˈbəːnɪŋ/, U.S. /ˌsloʊˈbərnɪŋ/ 1. That burns gently and for a relatively long time; that burns down slowly.
ΚΠ
1625 G. Primrose Righteous Mans Evils vii. 181 Shall I forget Laurentius Deacon of the Church of Rome,..laid upon an iron grate, and a slow burning fire under it, that he might feele his death.
a1716 O. Blackall Wks. (1723) I. xxiv. 223 Being burnt alive in a slowburning Fire.
1878 Nature 19 Dec. 148/1 A slow-burning powder is what artillerists require.
1954 J. Masters Bhowani Junction i. xi. 95 I rummaged in the table drawers and found a list:..1,000 feet of slow-burning fuse.
2007 Sunday Age (Melbourne) (Nexis) 23 Sept. (Eco Life section) 25 Most people are familiar with the slow-burning incense coils that repel mosquitoes.
2. figurative. That takes time to develop or progress; slowly building up to something.In quot. 1938 with reference to the American comedy actor Edgar Kennedy (see slow burn n. 1).
ΚΠ
1938 Winnipeg Evening Tribune 6 Jan. (Home ed.) 7/8 Edgar Kennedy, famed for slow burning comedy antics, plays another hick limb of law.
1963 Times 3 Apr. 17/2 It would be difficult to better Miss Maxine Audley's slow-burning fury as his equally miserable wife.
1991 Daily Express 1 June 27/3 This slow-burning satire is probably one of the more accessible films to try.
2016 Church Times 1 Jan. 32/1 We seek to work soulfully with people and places; so our projects might be slow-burning and sometimes unglamorous.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2021; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
adj.1625