One construction I've noticed in different places is along the lines of "fascism happens slowly, then very fast" and "how do you go bankrupt? first slowly, then quickly." Googling the bankruptcy variation, I was pointed to this exchange from Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises:
Anyway, I don't know that I'd ever heard this prior to a month ago. I was wondering if anyone else noticed the phrase recently becoming more popular, or is this more a case of me now knowing it and so seeing it everywhere.
― peace, man, Monday, 21 November 2022 11:48 (one year ago) link