Dictionary

play with fire en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) To put oneself in a precarious situation with a high risk of getting harmed, particularly emotionally or financially.
   • I'm telling you, if you sign that paper, you're playing with fire.
   • Uganda’s hardline President Yoweri Museveni has warned citizens planning anti-corruption protests Tuesday that they are “playing with fire.” 2024 July 22, Nimi Princewill, “Uganda’s President Museveni warns citizens they are ‘playing with fire’ over planned protests”, in CNN:
   • Play with fire and you get burned.
   • Long predicted by climate models, stratospheric cooling is a result of the Earth’s atmosphere attempting to maintain its energy "balance." Much more work will need to be performed before this troubling surprise is fully understood, but it already illustrates the recklessness of this "planetary experiment" that humanity has under way. We are not only playing with fire, but ice as well. As Robert Frost wrote, "Some say the world will end in fire; some say in ice." Either one, he added, "would suffice." 2013, Al Gore, The Future: Six Drivers of Global Change, New York: Random House, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, pages 310–311:
   • The Labour party is playing with fire; or, more accurately with its future, and that of the country. 2026 May 26, Jessica Elgot, quoting Tony Blair, “Tony Blair tells Starmer and rivals: abandon net zero and move closer to Trump”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

Forms

Relateds

ask for trouble · ask for it

Translations (36)

ro a se juca cu focul (put oneself in a precarious situation) · te నిప్పుతో చెలగాటం (put oneself in a precarious situation) · de mit dem Feuer spielen (put oneself in a precarious situation) · pt brincar com fogo (put oneself in a precarious situation) · hi आग से खेलना (put oneself in a precarious situation) · da lege med ilden (put oneself in a precarious situation) · it giocare con il fuoco (put oneself in a precarious situation) · pl bawić się zapałkami (put oneself in a precarious situation) · ur آگ سے کھیلنا (put oneself in a precarious situation) · sv leka med elden (put oneself in a precarious situation) · hu tűzzel játszik (put oneself in a precarious situation) · cmn 玩火 (put oneself in a precarious situation) · uk бавитися з вогнем (put oneself in a precarious situation) · uk грати з вогнем (put oneself in a precarious situation) · pt brincar com o fogo (put oneself in a precarious situation) · ja 火遊びをする (put oneself in a precarious situation) · gsw zöisle (put oneself in a precarious situation) · nl met vuur spelen (put oneself in a precarious situation) · no leke med ild (put oneself in a precarious situation) · ru игра́ть с огнём (put oneself in a precarious situation) · es jugar con fuego (put oneself in a precarious situation) · el παίζω με τη φωτιά (put oneself in a precarious situation) · uk жартувати з вогнем (put oneself in a precarious situation) · gsw mitem füür spile (put oneself in a precarious situation) · cmn 引火燒身 /引火烧身 (put oneself in a precarious situation) · fi leikkiä tulella (put oneself in a precarious situation) · ast xugar con fueu (put oneself in a precarious situation) · pl igrać z ogniem (put oneself in a precarious situation) · ar لَعِبَ بِالنَّار (put oneself in a precarious situation) · tl makipaglaro ng apoy (put oneself in a precarious situation) · cs hrát si s ohněm (put oneself in a precarious situation) · ko 불장난하다 (put oneself in a precarious situation) · be гуляць з агнём (put oneself in a precarious situation) · ast facer cuyarines (put oneself in a precarious situation) · he שִׂחֵק בְּאֵשׁ (put oneself in a precarious situation) · fr jouer avec le feu (put oneself in a precarious situation)