“Indian Summer” Meaning | What Does this Useful Idiom Mean?

Last updated on June 4, 2024 by Liam Daniel

You may hear the term ‘Indian summer’ used in an English conversation but what does this saying mean? We are going to look at the meaning of the term and what its origins are. We are also going to look at how the phrase can be used in a conversation.

Indian Summer

“Indian Summer” Meaning

An ‘Indian summer’ relates to a spell of unseasonably warm and dry weather which usually takes place in the early autumn.

Origin of this idiom

The term is believed to be related to the time of year when Native Americans did a lot of hunting when the weather was calm and dry.

“Indian Summer” Examples

Examples in Statements

This is a statement made by a neighbor.

  • ‘Your garden is flourishing this year, it must be down to the Indian summer we have had.’

Here is a statement made on a weather report.

  • ‘The weather has been unseasonably warm this September, we are certainly having an Indian summer.’

Other examples:

  • We had a splendid Indian summer last October.
  • We had an Indian summer that year, very warm until October.
  • The Indian summer of village industry faded. Trade grew more competitive.
  • Two days ago, they’d been enjoying an Indian summer.
  • He made his best films in his seventies; it was for him a real Indian summer.
  • New Yorkers were enjoying the Indian summer.
  • I guess this is what they call Indian summer, huh?
  • Auckland and Hamilton have been enjoying an Indian summer over the past few weeks.

Conversation Examples

If you are curious to see how the term ‘Indian summer’ can fit into a conversation, here are some examples of how it might work.

The first conversation is between two friends.

  • Person 1: “Shall we go away this September?”
  • Person 2: “We could but if the weather is anything like last year, we might be better staying here.”
  • Person 1: “Of course, we had a lovely Indian summer didn’t we.”

Here is a conversation between two people by a lake.

  • Person 1: “Isn’t it lovely and warm today.”
  • Person 2: “Yes, it isn’t usually this warm at this time of the year.”
  • Person 1: “No, we must be having an Indian summer.”

Other Ways to Say the Phrase

There are other ways in which you can express the meaning of the idiom ‘Indian summer.’

Here are some examples of other ways you could say it.

  • Unseasonably warm weather
  • A late summer
  • A spell of nice weather

“Indian Summer” Meaning | Image

Indian Summer

 

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