trigger

Related to trigger: Trigger finger

an itchy trigger finger

1. An inclination or readiness to shoot a gun (especially at someone) without needing much or any provocation or justification. I wouldn't stay too long around here—there are a lot of people with itchy trigger fingers in this part of town.
2. By extension, an inclination, readiness, or tendency to act or react carelessly, rashly, or without due consideration. John's itchy trigger finger is going to get him into trouble with his boss someday. When you're working in a restaurant, it's important not to have an itchy trigger finger when customers come to you with complaints.
See also: finger, itchy, trigger

pull the trigger (on something)

To make a final decision or commit to a certain course of action (about something). Jeff's been hemming and hawing about which car to buy—I wish he would just pull the trigger already! If we don't pull the trigger on this deal then we might never get the chance again.
See also: pull, trigger

quick on the draw

1. Literally, very quick at drawing one's gun in readiness to shoot it. The gunfighter was so quick on the draw that he often shot his enemies before they reached their own gun.
2. By extension, understanding, anticipating, or reacting to a given situation or circumstance very quickly. You have to be quick on the draw if you want to get ahead in the world of business. Faced with criticism by environmentalists, the company's PR rep was quick on the draw and pointed out its important role in job creation for the local community. John is quick on the draw to defend himself when criticized.
See also: draw, on, quick

quick on the trigger

1. Literally, very quick at drawing one's gun in readiness to shoot it. The gunfighter was so quick on the trigger that he often shot his enemies before they reached their own gun.
2. By extension, understanding, anticipating, or reacting to a given situation or circumstance very quickly. You have to be quick on the trigger if you want to get ahead in the world of business. Faced with criticism by environmentalists, the company's PR rep was quick on the trigger and pointed out its important role in job creation for the local community. John is quick on the trigger to defend himself when criticized.
See also: on, quick, trigger

trigger

1. noun Something that causes one psychological distress, typically because it reminds them of a past trauma. The graphic descriptions in that article were a trigger for me.
2. verb To cause psychological distress in someone, typically by reminding them of a past trauma. This article might be triggering for child abuse survivors.

trigger off

1. To cause some explosive device to detonate. A noun or pronoun can be used between "trigger" and "off." The jet drops the bombs from above and then triggers them off remotely. The construction activity triggered off a landmine that had been buried since the second World War.
2. To cause some severe or extreme event, condition, or situation to begin or occur. A noun or pronoun can be used between "trigger" and "off." The results of the election triggered off nationwide protests. Doctors still aren't sure what caused my collapse, but they think that it was probably stress that triggered it off.
3. To cause someone to become angry or irritated. In this usage, a noun or pronoun is used between "trigger" and "off." I still don't know what exactly triggered Tom off, but he's been in a foul mood ever since. Our mother was prone to angry outbursts, so we always had to be careful not to trigger her off.
See also: off, trigger

trigger warning

A statement at the beginning of an article or video advising that its content might be upsetting, especially for trauma survivors. At least that graphic article came with a trigger warning.
See also: trigger, warning

trigger-happy

1. Eager to use a weapon, i.e. to pull the trigger (of a gun). I know you're trigger-happy, but quit shooting or you'll scare off all the animals!
2. Having a tendency to do something or engage in or begin some activity with even the smallest level of enticement or provocation. Whenever I'm editing, I always get a little trigger-happy with the delete key and end up having to add some things back later. Don't pass to Rick. He's trigger-happy and shoots every time he gets the ball.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

quick on the trigger

 and quick on the draw 
1. Lit. quick to draw a gun and shoot. Some of the old cowboys were known to be quick on the trigger. Wyatt Earp was particularly quick on the draw.
2. Fig. quick to respond to anything. John gets the right answer before anyone else. He's really quick on the trigger. Sally will probably win the quiz game. She's really quick on the draw.
See also: on, quick, trigger

trigger someone off

to cause someone to become angry. (Fig. on trigger something off.) Your rude comments triggered her off. Your comments triggered off Bob's temper.
See also: off, trigger

trigger something off

to set something off, such as an explosion. We were afraid that the sparks from the engine would trigger an explosion off. The sparks triggered off an explosion.
See also: off, trigger
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

quick on the draw

Also, quick on the trigger. Rapid in acting or reacting, as in You have to be quick on the draw if you want to find low-rent housing here, or Bruce was quick on the trigger when it came to answering questions. The first expression came from the American West's gunslingers and was broadened to mean "a quick reaction" in the first half of the 1900s. The variant originated about 1800.
See also: draw, on, quick

trigger happy

Inclined to act violently at the slightest provocation, as in They feared that the President was trigger happy and would send in troops at the drop of a hat . This expression alludes to being too eager to fire a gun. [c. 1940]
See also: happy, trigger
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

trigger happy

If someone is trigger happy, they are too willing to use a gun. The firing continued throughout the night, trigger happy soldiers making sleep impossible.
See also: happy, trigger
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

quick on the draw

very fast in acting or reacting.
The draw is the action of taking a pistol or other weapon from its holster.
See also: draw, on, quick
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

trigger

1. n. a hired gunman. (Underworld.) Get your triggers outa here—then we can talk.
2. tv. to start something; to set something off. The noise triggered an avalanche.

trigger-happy

mod. eager to fire a gun; eager to shoot someone or something. Rocko is sort of trigger-happy. Watch out.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

quick on the draw/trigger

Fast to act or react. The term comes from the gunslingers of the American West and was transferred to other kinds of quick reaction in the first half of the twentieth century. The literal meaning of quick on the trigger is a century older, appearing in a letter of 1808: “I trust that all your Aids will be quick on the trigger” (M. L. Weems, in E. E. F. Skeel, M. L. Weems: Works and Ways).
See also: draw, on, quick, trigger
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • an itchy trigger finger
  • without provocation
  • on a whim
  • have half a mind to (do something)
  • have half a mind to do something
  • trend toward
  • trend toward (something)
  • to be fair (to someone or something)
  • seven-year itch
  • the seven-year itch
References in periodicals archive
As it became clear hunters and shooters appreciated a quality trigger pull and made it an important factor in selecting a rifle, manufacturers responded.
TRIGGERING A TURNAROUND
I like this trigger. It will stay in that carbine for now.
AR-15 TRIGGER OPTIONS 2018
Over a 7-week period, 46 consecutive patients with a total of 54 trigger fingers on 49 hands were identified.
Trigger finger: Location and association of comorbidities
Alternatively, because trigger jitter is caused by variations in the time difference between the triggering instant and the free-running time-base clock, attempts were made to match the time-base phase to the trigger timing.
Triggering morphs to match application needs
Triggers are a personal choice, especially in a rifle.
Timney's drop-in triggers: an easy trigger fix for ARs
What Robar is calling the Glockraft Defensive Applications Trigger is an American-made after market product that will give the shooter a feel of a shorter pull with less pre-and over-travel to help eliminate pre-ignition push.
Well in hand: two gun mods that can increase your accuracy
According to Jones, the trigger pulse duration must be equal to at least one cycle period, so with a slower measurement rate, the trigger pulse duration must be extended.
Keeping your finger on the sensor monitoring trigger: as manufacturing operations become more connected, the need for sensor triggering in process monitoring is increasingly necessary, as Chris Jones of Micro-Epsilon explained to Jonathan Newell
The trigger signal (green) initiates the measurement in the sensor.
The importance of sensor triggering
Mohamood: Unlike customer triggers, which act on data that is a few days old at most, merchandizing triggers require the ability to process fine-grained customer and product catalog activity at scale that spans a timeframe of months or years.
How to reduce shopping cart abandonment
When lenders treat all trigger alerts the same, with the belief that all events carry equal importance, they'll get notified on everything.
Sounding the alarm: using predictive analytics to make commercial alerts more effective
This literature review aims to present some of the most recent studies of the connection between myofascial trigger points and non-traumatic shoulder pain.
The role of myofascial trigger points in shoulder pain: a literature review
We discovered that varying the speed in which we pulled the trigger drastically affected, the arrow impact.
Becoming a punch master
Originally, the trigger function allowed the user to view a signal on the oscilloscope without "rolling" on the screen; but as trigger circuits have become more advanced, so-called "smart" triggers have enabled users to view a variety of signal features such as pulse width, runt, glitch and many more.
Oscilloscope trigger performance and digital triggering
THERE WAS A time when double-barrel shotguns commonly had a trigger for each barrel, and this included over-unders as well as side-by-side guns.
Triggers and barrel selectors: they can make--or break--a successful day afield
Silicon Valley, CA, May 05, 2011 --(PR.com)-- Rohde & Schwarz, a leading manufacturer of test & measurement, communications and broadcasting equipment, has developed the industry's only digital oscilloscope that employs a real-time digital trigger. Designated the R&S[R]RTO Series, the advanced scope significantly enhances productivity and product performance when debugging embedded systems.
Rohde & Schwarz's R&S[R]RTO Scope Series Enhances Performance of Embedded Systems