flame up
1. To begin to burn. Don't worry, the tinder will flame up eventually. The firewood still hasn't flamed up—what am I doing wrong? No, I was never a Boy Scout, so I have no idea how to make sticks flame up!
2. To begin to burn more intensely. The fire suddenly flamed up and crackled even louder. Don't throw water on a grease fire, that'll just make it flame up! What do you want, the house to burn down? Get the fire department over here ASAP before the fire flames up!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
flame up
1. [for something] to catch fire and burst into flames. The trees flamed up one by one in the forest fire. Suddenly the car flamed up and exploded.
2. [for a fire] to expand and send out larger flames. The raging fire flamed up and jumped to even more trees. As firemen opened the door and came in, the fire flamed up and filled the room.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.