Phrases with Fire
- Where's the fire?
- Out of the frying pan into the fire
- Keep several irons in the fire
- No smoke without fire
- To catch fire
Hello, my dear listener!
Are you ready to discuss some more expressions with me?
Today we'll take a look at some phrases with the word 'fire'.
I was walking with Larry, and suddenly he started walking really fast.
'Where's the fire?' I asked him.
What did I mean? Right, I wanted to ask him 'Why are you in such a hurry?', 'why are you doing something so fast?'
So the expression 'Where's the fire?' means 'Why are you in a hurry?' Usually police officers who stop speeding drivers ask them 'Where's the fire?'
Think of a situation in which you could say 'Where's the fire?'
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After Juliet was stopped by the policeman for speeding and got a fine, she continued driving too fast and caused an accident.
She's in the hospital now.
Out of the frying pan into the fire!
Do you have any idea why I just said that?
Well, a frying pan is not a very pleasant place, is it? And the fire is even worse, it's quite hot as a matter of fact. So, imagine a frying pan that's been heating over an open fire. A piece of meat is on the frying pan, and then it falls into the fire. You might think that it 'escaped' from the frying pan, got away from that bad situation, but in reality it just fell into an even worse place – into the fire. So out of the frying pan into the fire means to get from one bad situation straight into an even worse one.
Have you ever got out of the frying pan into the fire?
* * * * *
Stephen is looking for a job now.
He has several irons in the fire, but he hasn't chosen which opportunity to go for yet.
How many job offers does Stephen have? One or many? He has several irons in the fire, which means that he actually has several job offers. So the phrase 'several irons in the fire' means 'several job opportunities, but you haven't chosen one yet'.
Do you think it is wise to keep several irons in the fire when looking for a job?
* * * * *
I wanted to book a flight with an Italian airline, but I heard a rumor that their flights often got delayed.
It might not actually be true, but I'll travel with another airline.
There's no smoke without fire, as the proverb says.
Did you hear an expression with fire in my story?
There's no smoke without fire. In my story, the rumor is smoke, and the problems with the airline are fire. If there's smoke, there's got to be a fire. So if there's a rumor, then probably the problems are true, too. The expression 'there is no smoke without fire' means that all rumors are based on facts, there's truth behind every rumor and a piece of gossip. You can also say 'Where there's smoke there's fire'.
Do you agree with this proverb? Does it make sense?
Have you ever heard any rumors and decided not to use a company?
* * * * *
There was a big fire at a University building some time ago.
One laboratory started burning, and then all the rooms near it caught fire, and when the firemen came the whole wing was completely ruined.
So, what happened with the other rooms? They caught fire. Did they actually catch anything? No, they started burning as well, because something near them was burning. So 'to catch fire' means to start burning because there's a source of fire near this object.
Will a tree catch fire if it is struck by lightning? Yes, it probably will.
So, now you know some expressions with the word 'fire'.
Don't let the fire inside you burn out!
