Dictionary — ontologydriven

light the blue touchpaper en · VERB

(idiomatic) Synonym of light the touch-paper.
- Sterling lit the blue touchpaper on a thunderous atmosphere when he curled in a precision finish from the edge of the area after only four minutes, but Spurs responded with a double from Son Heung-min as he took advantage of errors by Aymeric Laporte. 2019 April 17, Phil McNulty, “Manchester City 4-3 Tottenham Hotsput”, in BBC News:

Spelling	Features	Source
lit the blue touchpaper	Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part	lexicographic
lit the blue touchpaper	Tense=Past	lexicographic
lighting the blue touchpaper	Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part	lexicographic
lights the blue touchpaper	Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres	lexicographic
lighted the blue touchpaper	Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part	lexicographic
lighted the blue touchpaper	Tense=Past	lexicographic