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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

throw gas on the fire en · VERB

Meanings

  1. Synonym of add fuel to the fire.
    • There is a lot of violence in the world these days. Do not throw gas on the fire by showing a child lots of negative images. 2014, Bill Hoatson, Professor Johnson Unhinged: Lectures on Teaching and Parenting, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, page 112:
    • Keeping transactions together is about managing everyone's expectations and being a person who does not throw gas on the fire. 2010, Gary Keller, Dave Jenks, Jay Papasan, Shift: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times, McGraw Hill Professional, →ISBN, page 248:
    • If you let your emotions get the better of you and you respond in kind to the irritated customer, you'll just throw gas on the fire. You may win the argument, but you will almost certainly lose the customer. 2005, Ski Area Management, Beardsley Publishing Corporation, page 36:
    • I believe we saw the incident escalated to a dangerous level by BLM leadership or lack thereof. We teach our local law enforcement people to defuse situations which may arise, not to throw gas on the fire. 2015, Committee on Natural Resources, Threats, Intimidation and Bullying by Federal Land Managing Agencies, Part II, Oversight Hrg. 113-82, July 24, 2014, 113-2, page 73:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
threw gas on the fire Tense=Past lexicographic
thrown gas on the fire Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
throwing gas on the fire Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
throws gas on the fire Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic

Synonyms

add fuel to the fire