Dictionary

ball of fire en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) A person who is especially active, ambitious, hard-working, or high-achieving.
   • "[T]ell me what you can about her supervisor," I requested. "Woman in her mid-fifties. No ball of fire. She's been with the company for twenty-two years and demonstrated no desire to climb any further." 1994, M. Scott Peck, A World Waiting to Be Born: Civility Rediscovered, →ISBN, page 198:
   • Despite Kennedy's glowing tribute, Hernandez was no ball of fire his first year as a pro. 1981, Jim Brosnan, “Keith Hernandez on the Rocky Road to Cooperstown,”, in Boys' Life, volume 71, number 9, page 36:
   • He really knows how to make a woman feel good. He's a ball of fire in bed. 2008, Frank L. Hicks Jr., Invisible Bridges, →ISBN, page 203:
   • "I wonder how fast this feller is? Ever heard?" "They seem to think he's a whirlin' ball of fire, but that don't worry you none, does it?" 1910, Rex Ellingwood Beach, chapter 16, in Going Some: A Romance of Strenuous Affection:

Forms

Relateds

fireball · great balls of fire

Synonyms

go-getter

Translations (2)

pl wulkan energii (hard-working, high-achieving, ambitious, or active person) · fi tehopakkaus (hard-working, high-achieving, ambitious, or active person)