pour gasoline on the fire

present singular third person pours gasoline on the fire · participle present pouring gasoline on the fire · participle past poured gasoline on the fire · past poured gasoline on the fire

1. idiomaticSynonym of add fuel to the fire.

   As I waited, my silence seemed to pour gasoline on the fire of Jack Reagan's irritation.

   2008, E. L. Merkel, Virgins and Martyrs, Five Star, published 2008, →ISBN, page 223

   2 more examples

   Instead of using the opportunity to ease the tensions between Bonn and Washington, Acheson chose to pour gasoline on the fire.

   1992, Douglas Brinkley, Dean Acheson: The Cold War Years, 1953-71, Yale University Press, published 1992, →ISBN, page 295

   The Ayatollah Khomeini poured gasoline on the fire with his comments on the mosque seizure, which were broadcast by Iranian radio the day after the attack.

   2003, Dennis Piszkiewicz, Terrorism's War with America: A History, Greenwood Press, published 2003, →ISBN, page 39

   Synonyms: add fuel to the fire, fan the flames, make matters worse