willow in the wind

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Noun

willow in the wind (plural willows in the wind)

1. (idiomatic) One whose views are easily and regularly changed by the persuasion or influence of others.
   • 1984 March 22, “Editorial: Smoking ban still up in the air”, in Reading Eagle, USA, retrieved 21 June 2011, page 4:

     [T]he CAB has rightfully seen Congress as a willow in the wind, bending to the wishes of whatever special interest groups and businesses speak loudest.

   • 1989, Gerry Spence, With Justice for None, →ISBN, page 5:

     Justice is not a willow in the wind; justice stands immutable against unjust forces.

   • 1992 June 25, “Local: Florida Senate”, in Miami Herald, retrieved 21 June 2011, page 5B:

     If he has to vote against taxes, he will—and his vote won't change from day to day: “I'm not gonna be a willow in the wind.”

   • 2008, Ronald Arthur Howard, Clinton D. Korver, Ethics for the Real World, →ISBN, page 40:

     Ethics begin to feel situational, a balancing of concerns. When this happens, we no longer have any firm ethic to stand on. We become an ethical willow in the wind.

Synonyms

• pushover, vacillator, waffler