pull someone's chestnuts out of the fire

verb

Synonym of pull someone's bacon out of the fire (“rescue someone, especially at the last moment”).

Similar
pull someone's bacon out of the fire
OriginFrench tirer les marrons du feu →
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Meanings

verbpull someone's chestnuts out of the fire (third-person singular simple present pulls someone's chestnuts out of the fire, present participle pulling someone's chestnuts out of the fire, simple past and past participle pulled someone's chestnuts out of the fire)

present singular third person pulls someone's chestnuts out of the fire · participle present pulling someone's chestnuts out of the fire · participle past pulled someone's chestnuts out of the fire · past pulled someone's chestnuts out of the fire

  1. Synonym of pull someone's bacon out of the fire (“rescue someone, especially at the last moment”).

    By now, however, it's unlikely that even this faithful retainer can once more pull Bush's chestnuts out of the fire.

    2006 Oct. 9, Jacob Heilbrunn, "‘Work Hard, Study ... and Keep Out of Politics!’" (book review), New York Times (retrieved 23 Oct 2011)

    Synonyms: pull someone's bacon out of the fire

  2. To do another person's difficult work.

Synonyms & antonyms

verbSynonym of pull someone's bacon out of the fire (“rescue someone, especially at the last moment”).

Similar
pull someone's bacon out of the fire

Origin

  1. Frenchtirer les marrons du feu
  2. Englishpull someone's chestnuts out of the fire

Calque of French tirer les marrons du feu, which comes from the fable The Monkey and the Cat by Jean de la Fontaine.

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan treure les castanyes del foc
  • treure les castanyes del focdo someone's difficult work
Danish rage kastanjerne ud af ilden
  • rage kastanjerne ud af ildendo someone's difficult work
Dutch de kastanjes uit het vuur halen
  • de kastanjes uit het vuur halendo someone's difficult work
Finnish hoitaa jonkun homma
  • hoitaa jonkun hommado someone's difficult work
French tirer les marrons du feu
  • tirer les marrons du feudo someone's difficult work
German die Kastanien aus dem Feuer holen, aus der Klemme helfen
  • die Kastanien aus dem Feuer holendo someone's difficult work
  • aus der Klemme helfendo someone's difficult work
  • aus der Patsche helfendo someone's difficult work
Greek βγάζω τα κάστανα από τη φωτιά
  • βγάζω τα κάστανα από τη φωτιά (vgázo ta kástana apó ti fotiá)do someone's difficult work
Italian cavar le castagne dal fuoco
  • cavar le castagne dal fuocodo someone's difficult work
Norwegian Bokmål rake kastanjene ut av ilden
  • rake kastanjene ut av ildendo someone's difficult work
Polish wyciągać kasztany z ognia
  • wyciągać kasztany z ogniado someone's difficult work
Spanish sacar las castañas del fuego
  • sacar las castañas del fuegodo someone's difficult work
Swedish kratsa kastanjerna ur elden
  • kratsa kastanjerna ur eldendo someone's difficult work
Cite this entry
APA

pull someone's chestnuts out of the fire. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pull%20someone's%20chestnuts%20out%20of%20the%20fire

MLA

“pull someone's chestnuts out of the fire.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pull%20someone's%20chestnuts%20out%20of%20the%20fire. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pull someone's chestnuts out of the fire,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pull%20someone's%20chestnuts%20out%20of%20the%20fire.

Source: pull someone's chestnuts out of the fire on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.