fire-eater en · NOUN
Meanings
- A performer who pretends to swallow fire.
-
(figuratively) A quarrelsome or belligerent person.
"But he is a regular fire eater!" "He's a bad man—a blamed bad man!" fluttered Danny Griswold. "That's right," nodded Lewis Little. "He really wants to fight with swords, I believe."
Burt L. Standish (Gilbert Patten)
-
(US, historical) An extreme partisan for the South before the US Civil War.
Frustrated in their attempts to change the law, fire-eaters turned their efforts to breaking it.
1988, James McPherson, Battle Cry for Freedom, Oxford, published 2003, page 103:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| fire eater | alternative | lexicographic | |
| fire-eaters | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| fireeater | alternative | lexicographic |
Relateds
Synonyms
fire breather (performer) · fire-breather (performer) · firebreather (performer)
Translations (16)
de Feuerschluckerin (performer) · de Feuerschlucker (performer) · sv eldslukare (performer) · fi riitapukari (quarrelsome or belligerent person) · fi tulennielijä (performer) · he רושפת \ רוֹשֶׁפֶת (performer) · ga slogaire tine (performer) · fr cracheur de feu (performer) · fr mangeur de feu (performer) · af vuureter (performer) · he רושף \ רוֹשֵׁף (performer) · nl vuurvreter (performer) · ar آكِل اَلنَّار (performer) · fr cracheuse de feu (performer) · kmr agirbaz (performer) · fr mangeuse de feu (performer)