tinderbox
6
8.3
- noun
- /ˈtɪndərˌbɑks/
- Literature
:
polvorín
- But first, we're gonna go to where they're paying a big price for tinderbox conditions.
Iran may be preparing to strike and preparing its countermeasures, but this video isn't about that tinderbox.
- Iran may be preparing to strike and preparing its countermeasures, but this video isn't about that tinderbox.
- I think they know they're in a tinderbox situation and in the country and I think they're desperately trying to keep the lid on it and they know that.
Examples
-
With its enormous population crammed into the narrow Nile River Valley, Egypt has long been a tinderbox.
Academic text (2011) -
This place ought to go up like a tinderbox.
-
This entire country is a tinderbox.
-
That is a social tinderbox.
Blog text (29) -
"Dublin city is currently like a tinderbox just waiting to explode."
-
ALEX: The dry summer months had turned the forest into a tinderbox, ready to explode into flames.
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We should also engage discreetly in Kashmir, the tinderbox of Asia.
Academic text (2008) -
As far back as 1989, there were murmurings that the entire Front Range was a tinderbox and it was just a matter of time before it went up.
Blog text (24) -
I think they know they're in a tinderbox situation and in the country and I think they're desperately trying to keep the lid on it and they know that.
-
The political tensions in the region have created a tinderbox that could erupt into violence at any moment.
Synonyms
11
5.6
A place where political unrest may lead to violence
10
7.5
A situation where trouble or violence can start suddenly
9
3.7
A place where problems or fighting happen often
8
7.2
A situation that causes much trouble and angry reactions
4
5.1
A place where political conflict or violence often happens
3
7.7
A time when a situation can suddenly become violent or very dangerous
1
6.7
A situation that causes trouble, danger, or strong disagreement
A situation likely to suddenly become violent or start a fight
A tense unstable situation that could easily become violent
Idioms
- Literature
A tense unstable situation that could easily become violent
Compounds
How Dangerous
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Tinderbox is also used for a dangerous situation because of a simple picture: a place full of dry tinder waiting for a 'spark' to start a fire. So, calling a place a tinderbox means it can suddenly become violent or dangerous.