tinderbox waiting to ignite
- idiom
- Literature
:
situación a punto de estallar
- The region has become a tinderbox waiting to ignite, with tensions running high on all sides.
Examples
-
With so much resentment in the workplace, it was a tinderbox waiting to ignite.
-
The political climate feels like a tinderbox waiting to ignite.
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The disagreement over the policy created a tinderbox waiting to ignite within the community.
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This city is a tinderbox waiting to ignite!
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The rising unemployment and economic despair have turned the city into a tinderbox waiting to ignite.
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Given the ongoing protests and heightened political unrest, the nation is a tinderbox waiting to ignite.
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With constant bickering among the board members, the meeting turned into a tinderbox waiting to ignite.
Synonyms
10
7.5
A situation where trouble or violence can start suddenly
8
7.2
A situation that causes much trouble and angry reactions
6
8.3
A place or situation likely to become suddenly violent because of tensions
4
4.3
A situation very likely to cause serious trouble
1
6.7
A situation that causes trouble, danger, or strong disagreement
A situation likely to suddenly become violent or start a fight
Antonyms
How Volatile
Surface Forms
Morphology
tinderbox + waiting + to + ignite
Both parts contribute directly: 'tinderbox' denotes a volatile, easily erupting situation and 'waiting to ignite' indicates it is on the verge of bursting into conflict. The image is a straightforward metaphor (combustible situation about to catch fire) that is common cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words can reliably infer the overall meaning.
Etymology
Tinderbox waiting to ignite brings to mind a small box of dry material called a tinderbox that needs only a spark to ignite and burst into flames. That's why we call a place or situation a tinderbox waiting to ignite when it is very tense and could easily 'erupt into conflict'.