summer

proverb One piece of evidence does not mean that something is definitely the case or is going to happen. A reference to the migration of swallows that happens in the spring or early summer. A lot of things went right for us this year, but one swallow does not a summer make—we still have a long ways to go before our finances are back in order. A: "I'm really worried the boss is going to fire me. He said he really wasn't happy with my work lately!" B: "Calm down, one swallow does not a summer make."

One piece of evidence does not mean that something is definitely the case or is going to happen. A reference to the migration of swallows that happens in the spring or early summer. A lot of things went right for us this year, but one swallow does not make a summer—we still have a long ways to go before our finances are back in order. A: "I'm really worried the boss is going to fire me. He said he really wasn't happy with my work lately!" B: "Calm down, one swallow doesn't make a summer."

To monitor one's behavior or abilities for a sufficiently long period of time. Oh yes, I will summer and winter him during this probationary period, to determine if we should hire him full-time.

euphemism, obsolete Any severe gastrointestinal infection, but especially food poisoning or cholera, typically contracted by children in the summertime. Mary has a bit of the summer complaint, so she has taken to bed for the rest of the week. Before personal hygiene and food safety practices became commonplace, children became ill and died from what adults rather flippantly called summer complaints.

Prov. You should not assume that something is true just because you have seen one piece of evidence for it. Amanda: I got a good grade on this quiz! My troubles in school are over. Nancy: One swallow does not a summer make.

A period of mild, sunny weather occurring in late autumn, usually following a seasonable cold spell. For example, We had two whole days of Indian summer this year, and then it turned cold again. [Late 1700s]

An Indian summer is a period of great success late in someone's life or career, often after a period of not being successful. Despite an unexpected Indian Summer, they never really lived up to their initial promise. Note: An Indian summer is a period of unusually warm sunny weather during the autumn.

You say one swallow doesn't make a summer to mean that although something good has happened, the situation may not continue to be good, and you cannot rely on it. Sales in December were up about 1 percent, which of course, is good news. One swallow, however, doesn't make a summer and it remains to be seen whether they can maintain this growth in the difficult months ahead. Note: People often use the more literary phrase one swallow does not a summer make. One swallow does not a summer make, but a visit to the Hotel Metropole in Ipswich goes a long way to improving that city's reputation. Note: Swallows are a type of bird. The reference here is to the arrival of swallows in Europe at the beginning of summer, after spending the winter further south.

A single portent or element of something does not mean the totality is here. This ancient adage, known already in Greek times, may come from one of Aesop’s fables. A swallow emerges on a warmer-than-usual winter day, and a young man, seeing it, sells his warm cloak and spends the proceeds on drink and carousing. The following week, the weather turns cold again, and he, shivering without his cloak, discovers that one swallow did not mean summer had arrived. Appearing in many proverb collections and in numerous languages, along with numerous variants (One grain does not fill a sack, one actor cannot make a play, and the like), the term was defined by George Pettie in 1576: “As one swallow does not make sommer, so one particularity concludeth no generality.”