fire in the furnace
- idiom
- Informal
:
fuego en el horno
- Even though he's in his eighties, there's still fire in the furnace when he talks about his work.
Examples
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She impressed everyone by showing there was plenty of fire in the furnace during her comeback performance.
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Even at 70, he maintains a fire in the furnace that inspires everyone.
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People joked that there may be snow on the rooftop, but there was certainly fire in the furnace.
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She still has the fire in the furnace to pursue her dreams!
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Even though he's in his eighties, there's still fire in the furnace when he talks about his work.
-
People joked that there may be snow on the rooftop, but there was certainly fire in the furnace.
-
Even at 70, he maintains a fire in the furnace that inspires everyone.
Synonyms
313
5.8
Strong feeling of energy and passion
4
6.6
A strong wish to succeed that makes you try very hard
A strong inner feeling that makes someone want to do something
Antonyms
How Energetic
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase maps a familiar metaphor — 'fire' as energy or passion inside a 'furnace' as a contained source — so a learner who knows the words can plausibly infer continuing internal energy or vitality. However, the meaning is figurative and the specific nuance (e.g. persistence despite age) requires a metaphorical inference rather than strict compositionality, so it is not fully predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
The phrase fire in the furnace comes from the picture of a furnace with a strong fire burning inside, giving heat and power even when it is cold outside. So it means having 'energy' or 'passion' left, even as someone gets older.