a scoppio ritardato

Italian

Etymology

Literally, “at delayed blast”.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a ˈskɔp.pjo ri.tarˈda.to/
• Hyphenation: a‧scòp‧pio‧ri‧tar‧dà‧to

Prepositional phrase

a scoppio ritardato

1. (idiomatic) with delay respect to the normal or expected time; delayed

   reagire a scoppio ritardato ― to have a delayed reaction

   • 2020, Barack Obama, chapter 11, in Chicca Galli, Paolo Lucca, Giuseppe Maugeri, transl., Una terra promessa [A Promised Land], Garzanti Libri:

     Spiegò che la disoccupazione era tipicamente un «indicatore a scoppio ritardato», nel senso che, durante le recessioni, le dimensioni reali della perdita di posti di lavoro non si palesano immediatamente, e di solito continuano ad aggravarsi anche dopo che l'economia ha ricominciato a crescere.

     He explained that unemployment was typically a "lagging indicator," meaning the full scale of job losses during recessions didn't show up right away, and usually continued well after an economy started growing again.

     (literally, “He explained that unemployment was typically a "delayed indicator", in the sense that, during recessions, the real scale of job loss does not manifest itself immediately, and typically continues to worsen even after the economy has begun to grow again.”)