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fuel |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.01 sec. |
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add fuel to the fire and add fuel to the flame Fig. to make a problem worse; to say or do something that makes a bad situation worse; to make an angry person get even angrier. (Alludes to causing a flame to grow larger someone or something to move forward when fuel is added.) Shouting at a crying child just adds fuel to the fire. fuel something (up) to put fuel into something. I have to fuel this car up before I go any farther. I need to fuel up the car. fuel up to fill one's tank with fuel. Let's stop here and fuel up. I need to fuel up at the next little town. See also: up take fuel on to refuel; to be refueled. (Usually said of a large conveyance, such as a ship or a plane.) We need to land at the next major airport to take fuel on. We will land somewhere to take on fuel. See also: take add fuel to the fire/flames to make an argument or a bad situation worse His mild words only added fuel to the fire. Isabelle was furious. add fuel to the fire to make a situation worse than it already is Should the government warn the public of terrorist threats, or is this merely adding fuel to the fire? How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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| ? References in periodicals archive |
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Adding fuel to the fire, the clerical regime will
continue to test new and improved ballistic missiles, extending range
and payload. Coupled
with the inverted yield curve of the past few weeks, uncertainty in
energy pricing, overseas investors adding fuel to the fire due to the
interest-rate play and (in most markets) a very conservative pace of new
construction, this all equates to produce a highly volatile mixture. The
agreement fell into disrepute during the postwar period, making the
Democrats look like appeasers of Stalin, adding fuel to the fire of
McCarthyism, and compelling Truman to take a hard line on Korea. |
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