powder keg
8
7.5
- noun
- /ˈpaʊdər kɛg/
- Literature
:
barril de pólvora
- The fragile peace in the region is like a powder keg, with tensions high and conflicts brewing beneath the surface.
The murder ignited a powder keg in West Virginia.
- The murder ignited a powder keg in West Virginia.
- Powder keg, A powder keg of a slave society that becomes more and more and more dangerous, and the price of slaves will plummet.
Examples
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"Several witnesses said it was a powder keg waiting to explode down there," says Lamatina.
Academic text (2001) -
Didn't she know her presence would be like holding a lit match to a powder keg?
Fiction book (1998) -
This place is a powder keg.
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we're sitting on a powder keg.
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After all, the UK is sitting on its very own powder keg.
Blog text (22) -
The Middle East is a powder keg.
Blog text (26) -
So it's a it's a powder keg as far as conflict goes.
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I consider it a powder keg, very explosive.
Academic text (1990) -
Judea was a powder keg, a tangle of class, ethnic and religious divisions.
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And I do not see how any movement towards defusing this powder keg can happen while Americans remain in their comfort zone, seeing themselves as bystanders, which is just not so.
Blog text (14)
Synonyms
10
7.5
A situation where trouble or violence can start suddenly
6
8.3
A place or situation likely to become suddenly violent because of tensions
3
7.7
A time when a situation can suddenly become violent or very dangerous
A situation likely to suddenly become violent or start a fight
Antonyms
How Volatile
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is a transparent noun-noun composition: 'powder' (gunpowder) simply specifies the content of a 'keg' (small barrel), so its meaning 'a keg containing powder' is directly derivable from the constituents. This straightforward compositional pattern is common cross-linguistically and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both words.
Etymology
Powder keg: The idiom powder keg comes from a real barrel of powder kept in a keg that could 'explode' from a small spark. So a place full of tension that might suddenly 'explode' is called a powder keg.