the.com/trigger
a feather-light promise that the irreversible is one twitch away
means A trigger is the small lever you squeeze to fire a gun, or by extension anything that sets off a sudden reaction or chain of events.
from From Dutch 'trekker,' meaning a puller or pulling device, from 'trekken' — to pull or draw. It entered English in the 17th century, originally spelled 'tricker,' before settling into the smoother 'trigger.' The metaphor stays faithful to its root: a trigger is forever something you pull. The psychological sense — a stimulus that sets off a reaction — is a much later figurative bloom on that same mechanical stem.
- trigger weight
- competition rifles fire under one pound of pull
- trigger discipline
- finger stays off until the decision is final
- hair trigger
- so light a heartbeat can discharge it
- psychology
- a stimulus that reanimates buried trauma instantly
- etymology
- from Dutch trekker, meaning a puller
for instance
invasion of poland — september 1 1939 german invasion, triggered world war ii in europe