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tinderbox

[ tin-der-boks ]

noun

  1. a box for holding tinder, usually fitted with a flint and steel.
  2. a person or thing that is highly excitable, explosive, inflammable, etc.; a potential source of widespread violence:

    Berlin was the tinderbox of Europe.



tinderbox

/ ˈɪԻəˌɒ /

noun

  1. a box used formerly for holding tinder, esp one fitted with a flint and steel
  2. a person or thing that is particularly touchy or explosive
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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yvlog History and Origins

Origin of tinderbox1

First recorded in 1520–30; tinder + box 1
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

An early masterpiece, “Blood Knot” established a paradigm for Fugard, whose plays are distinguished by their small casts, static locations and tinderbox emotions.

From

After months of drought, Southern California was a tinderbox, one spark away from going up in flames.

From

The morning after the Eaton fire erupted, Erlich said, the inside of the Pasadena courthouse smelled like a “tinderbox” and was unsafe to work in.

From

When this weather pattern settles in, it’s not just a lack of precipitation that’s aggravating the drought: The atmosphere itself pulls water from soil, from vegetation, from everything, turning California’s landscape into a tinderbox.

From

Glasgow was known as the tinderbox city at that time, it was a disaster waiting to happen.

From

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