English

Noun

minor miracle ‎(plural minor miracles)

1. (idiomatic) An improbable, unexpected, or surprising achievement or other occurrence that is fortunate and agreeable.
   • 1874, Sir Richard Francis Burton, Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, Volume 1, p. 193 (Google preview):

     When the vessel showed some symptoms of unsteadiness, I arose, walked gravely up to her, ranged the pilgrims around her with their shoulders to the sides, and told them to heave with might. . . . Each Maghrabi worked like an Atlas . . . and, sliding heavily through the sand, once more floated off into deep water. This was generally voted a minor miracle, and the Effendi was respected—for a day or two.

   • 1940 Sept. 30, "Radio: Believers in Fur," Time (retrieved 4 Aug 2016):

     Last week over a CBS network Robert Ripley reunited after 40 years a mother and her long-lost son. Having accomplished this minor miracle, Ripley changed the pace of his Believe It Or Not show.

   • 1970 January, "AMC Javelin 390 SST," Car and Driver (retrieved 4 Aug 2016):

     The engineers at AMC have wrought a minor miracle in modifying this archaic transmission so that it is merely inconvenient instead of being an outright disappointment.

   • 1998 March 8, Clifford Krauss, "Dialing for Dollars in Brazil's Telephone Privatization," New York Times (retrieved 4 Aug 2016):

     The country's telephone service, however, is another matter. Getting a dial tone and holding a conversation free of static are minor miracles.

   • 2009 March 30, Marcus Armytage, "Racing Diary," Telegraph (UK) (retrieved 4 Aug 2016):

     Richard Dunwoody . . . did however perform one minor miracle; managing to eat a bowl of cereal on horseback while looking at the camera and still finding his mouth with the spoon without spillage.

Usage notes

• Unlike the term miracle, minor miracle does not usually refer to an event having a divine origin.

Synonyms

• small miracle

Translations