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light a fire under
Idioms and Phrases
Also, build a fire under . Urge or goad to action, as in If we don't light a fire under that committee, they'll never do any work . This hyperbolic colloquialism uses light in the sense of âignite,â a usage dating from the mid-1100s.Example Sentences
Wouldnât that light a fire under you?
Verona Frankish, chief executive of online estate agent Yopa, said the changes "will certainly light a fire under those buyers currently progressing through the transaction process, or considering a purchase this side of Christmas".
"A bit of youth is a good thing. I think he'll light a fire under the French government, which seems to be showing some signs of age," agreed the fishmonger, Johan Chassevent, 49, as he shucked a pile of Coquilles St Jacques.
The White House is trying to light a fire under Congress to pass $106 billion in war aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, but the emergency funding isnât dire enough for Democrats to cut a deal with Republicans on border security.
And while Tanevâs crash-and-bang ways should light a fire under the team whenever heâs out there, his teammates could stand to up their aggressiveness in all facets so he wonât have to do it alone.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American HeritageŸ Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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