A list of meteorological idioms.

Cloud[]

Black cloud hanging over one's head[]

A black cloud or dark cloud was an indication of a gloomy day, and anyone associated with a black cloud, especially one hanging over someone's head, was said to be having a bad day.

"It's like this big, black cloud with lots of thunder and lightning all around us."

• A simile used by Corin to explain to Tuvok what her fear would look like in a physical form. (VOY: "Innocence")

"Just follow the black cloud"

• Quark about how to locate Odo, who he described as "one depressed ex-Changeling." (DS9: "Apocalypse Rising")

"The only dark cloud I see around here is you."

• Jadzia Dax to Worf while visiting Risa in 2373. (DS9: "Let He Who Is Without Sin...")

"A black cloud hanging over (your) head"

• While conferring with B'Elanna Torres about her Day of Honor, Neelix offered a suggestion, without knowing why such a cloud hung over Torres' head, he offered to be her "pressure valve". (VOY: "Day of Honor")

Cloud of doom[]

Clouds of war[]

The clouds of war referred to the threat of an impending war.

Sisko was at a loss for why the station's personnel were so optimistic, despite him seeing the clouds of war (referring to the threat of a Dominion war) on the horizon. (DS9: "In the Cards")

Cloud one's _____[]

If something clouded something of a person, it hindered it.

Jenice Manheim wondered if her husband's obsession with his project clouded his judgment. (TNG: "We'll Always Have Paris")

Wesley claimed that his machine, which was allegedly a failed school project that he had left on the Enterprise due to being excited in a hurry, was a good lesson not to let excitement cloud one's thinking. (TNG: "Peak Performance")

Data once stated that it was fortunate that Keiko's judgment was not clouded by emotional considerations. However, Keiko became more emotive soon after. (TNG: "Data's Day")

Bareil stated that Winn's desire to become kai clouded her judgment. (DS9: "The Collaborator")

(Cloud with a) silver lining[]

A silver lining was a positive side to a negative situation, referencing the idea that clouds always have the sun shining through them.

When Worf, who was lost in the jungle with Dax, noted that their tricorders were useless as a result of him bypassing the Dominion encryption lockouts, she accused him of "looking for the cloud in the silver lining", i.e. being pessimistic. He countered that he was not, as he actually enjoyed the idea of being directionless in the jungle. (DS9: "Change of Heart")

When the EMH, who had had his ethical programs deleted, was trying to access Seven of Nine's cortical node, he told her that there was a silver lining, in that she would soon reach Earth. (VOY: "Equinox")

Head in the clouds[]

One who had their head in the clouds was distracted.

Wainwright claimed scientists were childish and always had their heads in the clouds. (DS9: "Little Green Men")

Parting clouds[]

Ice[]

Break the ice[]

Ice cold[]

Ice through to one's bones[]

Rain[]

It never rains but it pours[]

Meant that many problems came all at once.

In 2285, when Carol Marcus contacted James T. Kirk with an urgent message, Leonard McCoy remarked that it never rains but it pours. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)

Rain on one's parade[]

To rain on one (one's) parade was to spoil their fun.

In 2372, Dr. Julian Bashir, annoyed by Elim Garak's intruding upon his Julian Bashir, Secret Agent holo-novel program, told him that he could stay, but to keep quiet and not rain on his parade. (DS9: "Our Man Bashir")

Right as rain[]

If something or somebody was as right as rain, they or it were perfectly fine.

Julian Bashir once noted that Odo could not hold his shape in the atmosphere of Gaia, but that he would be as right as rain after he left the atmosphere. (DS9: "Children of Time")

Take a rain check[]

To take a rain check was to postpone something.

When Troi wanted to give Data a rain check on discussing the effects of space travel on his positronic net, he did not understand and thought she wanted to check if there was water in something of his. (ENT: "These Are The Voyages...")

Snow[]

As white as snow[]

As white as snow meant pure white.

The nursery rhyme Mary Had a Little Lamb said the lamb's fleece was as white as snow. (ENT: "Dawn")

Storm[]

Calm before the storm[]

The calm before the storm was a peaceful situation that preceded chaos, tension, or activity.

Riker used this idiom to refer to cells assuming a state of dormancy before dividing. (TNG: "Home Soil")

Kira described the Promenade being nearly empty in the leadup to the Gratitude Festival as the calm before the storm. (DS9: "Fascination")

Eye of the storm[]

Port in the storm[]

Talk up a storm[]

Wind[]

A warm wind blowing in from Minicoy[]

A warm wind blowing in from Minicoy referred to the suspicion that someone was lying, originating from an ambassador in Minicoy who was prone to lying and exaggeration.

Sisko used this idiom to refer to Jaro Essa removing Kira Nerys from Deep Space Nine, and he was unfamiliar with it, so Sisko defined it and explained its origin. (DS9: "The Circle")

Be a breeze[]

Breeze in[]

Breeze up the ranks[]

Get one's wind back[]

To get one's wind back was to reacquire one's energy.

O'Brien claimed he needed to get his wind back when he had less stamina than Bashir while playing racquetball. (DS9: "Rivals")

Get wind of something[]

Meant to hear of a matter.

Sisko told Kira that the Cardassian government had gotten wind of her plan to search for the Ravinok. (DS9: "Indiscretion")

Grimp said that as soon as the FCA's lobes got wind of Rom's union, they were doomed. (DS9: "Bar Association")

Bashir told Richard Bashir that his career could be in jeopardy if Dr. Zimmerman got wind of their secret. (DS9: "Doctor Bashir, I Presume")

Go whichever way the wind blows[]

May the wind be at our backs[]

See which way the wind is blowing[]

To see which way the wind was blowing was to observe one's situation and act accordingly.

When Dukat explained that his job was to serve "the legitimate ruling body of the Empire", but changed his mind on who that was, Sisko stated that Dukat essentially saw which way the wind was blowing and switched sides. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior")

Sniff the wind[]

To sniff the wind meant to observe one's surroundings to determine the desired course of action.

Quark, when discussing adding programs to his holosuites suitable for human families in response to the influx of new human occupants of DS9, he noted that "a true entrepreneur knows how to sniff the wind." He offered Odo to try, but he noted that he had no sense of smell. Quark noted that one need not have a literal sense of smell to be able to metaphorically smell opportunity. (DS9: "If Wishes Were Horses")

Throw something to the winds[]

Weather[]

Weather[]

To withstand and come safely through.

In 2375 the USS Voyager weathered an ion storm. (VOY: "Once Upon a Time")

Under the weather[]

Not feeling healthy.

B'Elanna Torres told Neelix that Seven of Nine was feeling "under the weather" when she was suffering the Borg equivalent of multiple personality disorder in 2375. (VOY: "Infinite Regress")

Figures of speech
Adages • Allusion • Anagram • Antonomasia • Aphorism • Autoantonym • Axiom • Cliché • Colloquialism • Euphemism • Hyperbole • Idiom • Metaphor • Motto • Onomatopoeia • Oxymoron • Personification • Pleonasm • Profanity • Proverb • Quotation • Reduplication • Rhetoric • Rhetorical question • Saying • Simile • Slang • Tongue twister
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