on the front burner
5
4.4
- idiom
- US
:
prioritario
- With rising inflation, the economy is on the front burner for voters as they approach the elections.
- put on the front burner
- keep on the front burner
- issues on the front burner
Examples
-
"She put public service visibly on the front burner.
Blog text (22) -
The debate over climate change is currently on the front burner for government officials.
-
So those are the three big things that I wanted to put on the front burner and and let you think about them.
-
"It will be forced on the front burner because as long as we keep doing this and the longer the delay, the bigger the problem becomes."
Blog text (23) -
I've got that Lexon deal on the front burner.
-
It will take time, but 9/11 has placed these issues on the front burner.
Academic text (2002) -
The idea of a total gift ban on lobbyists, once dismissed by the legislative brass as unnecessary, is now on the front burner, with an endorsement by House Speaker David Ralston and a bill expected to pop early in the upcoming session.
Blog text (21) -
She also took a leading hand in shaping the details of the protest itself, bringing her humor, her creativity, her political insights, and her passionate insistence that the oppression of women be on the front burner.
Blog text (27) -
Health care reform has been on the front burner of discussions in Congress this year.
Synonyms
337
2.9
Very important and needing action right away
70
3.5
The most important thing to deal with first
Antonyms
How Urgent
917
4.0
70
3.5
- US
5
4.4
- Informal
16
5.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase evokes a cooking/stove image (a 'front burner' is a stove ring that is easier to access and thus tended first), so knowing 'front' and 'burner' gives a plausible hint that something placed there is given priority. However, the transfer from that literal spatial/culinary image to the abstract meaning 'urgent/priority' is a metaphorical extension and not fully predictable for a B1 learner without prior exposure or cultural knowledge.
Etymology
The idiom on the front burner comes from cooking: a pot on the front burner is closest to the cook and gets attention first, while pots on the back burners can be left to cook more slowly. That's why saying something is 'on the front burner' means it is 'a top priority'.