flame (redirected from bursting into flames)

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.

See also: add, fire, fuel

an old flame

a person who you had a romantic relationship with in the past. I bumped into an old flame of yours in Oxford on Saturday.

See also: old

fan the flames

to cause anger or other bad feelings to increase. His speeches fanned the flames of racial tension. (usually + of)

See also: fan

go up in flames

to fail or come to an end suddenly and completely. Final hopes of a pay settlement went up in flames yesterday after talks broke down.

like moths to a flame (literary)

if people gather round someone like moths to a flame, they try to be near someone who seems very attractive or very interesting. I never understood why people flocked around him like moths to a flame.

See also: like

shoot something/someone down in flames (informal)

to strongly criticize an idea or plan, or to refuse to accept it. Several months ago this highly impractical idea would have been shot down in flames. I thought I'd made a sensible suggestion, but they just shot me down in flames.

See also: down, shoot

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fan the flames (of something)

to cause an increase in negative feelings. These images of war could be used to fan the flames of hatred against our country.

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of fan the flames (= to cause air to flow toward a fire)

See also: fan

go down in flames

to fail or end suddenly and completely. We've seen two big mass-transit plans go down in flames in the last two years. The idea of self-respect went up in flames a long time ago.

go up in smoke

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of a plane that goes down in flames (= falls to the ground and burns)

See also: down