Idiom
fan the flames
Meaning
To intensify or worsen an already difficult situation.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“Don't argue with him, you are only fanning the flames.”
“The manager's angry email only fanned the flames of the office dispute.”
“By publicly criticizing the protesters, the politician inadvertently fanned the flames of social unrest across the entire country.”
Examples
simple
“Don't argue with him, you are only fanning the flames.”
contextual
“The manager's angry email only fanned the flames of the office dispute.”
complex
“By publicly criticizing the protesters, the politician inadvertently fanned the flames of social unrest across the entire country.”
Key words
Related idioms
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