{"id":45,"date":"2021-09-22T20:46:28","date_gmt":"2021-09-22T20:46:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=45"},"modified":"2021-10-12T19:16:26","modified_gmt":"2021-10-12T19:16:26","slug":"fan-the-flame-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/fan-the-flame-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Fan the Flame - Meaning, Usage and Origin"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The term \u201cfan the flame\u201d is an idiom, or a common phrase that\u2019s uttered in several western cultures, particularly the United States. You may be wondering what \u201cfan the flame\u201d means and how to use it appropriately. Read on to learn more about this popular idiom.<\/p>\n<h2>What does \u201cfan the flame\u201d mean?<\/h2>\n<p>The literal meaning of \u201cfanning the flames\u201d means to blow air onto a fire, so as to \u201cfeed\u201d the fire with more oxygen, thus making the flames more intense. When used as an idiom, the meaning of \u201cfan the flames\u201d can be understood by dissecting the literal meaning of the phrase.<\/p>\n<p>When this phrase is used as an idiom the word \u201cflames\u201d can be viewed as a negative emotion, like ire or hate, and \u201cfan\u201d can be viewed as an action or a statement that would intensify negative emotions.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, the term \u201cfan the flames\u201d as an idiom means doing something to strengthen a reaction or an emotion. The term doesn\u2019t always have to have a negative connotation; it can also be used to describe positive situations, such as love or courage.<\/p>\n<h2>Examples of \"fan the flame\" in a sentence<\/h2>\n<p>The following sentences illustrate the appropriate use of the \u201cfan the flames\u201d idiom.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The president\u2019s rhetoric fanned the flames of anger between the people of the nation and the world.<\/li>\n<li>Constantly raising taxes only flames the flames of the wealth gap between the ultra-wealthy and the poor- and middle-class.<\/li>\n<li>The government\u2019s response to the coronavirus fans the flames of wealth and health disparities.<\/li>\n<li>News reports use fear and anxiety to further fan the flames of divisiveness.<\/li>\n<li>New studies have proven that social media has fanned the flames of depression and anxiety among teenagers.<\/li>\n<li>Stay-at-home orders have only fanned the flames of childhood obesity.<\/li>\n<li>Forcing businesses to close only fans the flames of global poverty.<\/li>\n<li>I had a lot to say about the situation, but I kept my mouth shut because I didn\u2019t want to add fuel to the fire.<\/li>\n<li>Billy only added fuel to the fire when he accused the other team of cheating.<\/li>\n<li>The boy\u2019s flirting with the girl fanned the flames of her attraction toward him.<\/li>\n<li>The new and unjust rules put into place at the workplace fanned the flames of courage that resulted in the employees quitting.<\/li>\n<li>Nothing fans the flames of love like an unexpected romantic gesture.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is the origin of the \u201cfan the flames\u201d idiom?<\/h2>\n<p>As discussed, when taken literally, the \u201cfan the flames\u201d idiom means to blow oxygen onto a fire so as to strengthen the intensity of the flames. Though it isn\u2019t known when the use of this idiom originated, one of the first records of this term being used in a metaphorical sense was in <em>The Old Curiosity Shop<\/em> by Charles Dickens in the mid-1800s.<\/p>\n<h2>What phrases or idioms are similar to \u201cfan the flames\u201d?<\/h2>\n<p>There are several other phrases and idioms that mean the same thing as \u201cfan the flames\u201d. Examples include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Add fuels to the flames<\/li>\n<li>Pour gasoline on the fire<\/li>\n<li>Add insult to injury<\/li>\n<li>Make matters worse<\/li>\n<li>Make a bad situation worse<\/li>\n<li>Intensify an already difficult situation<\/li>\n<li>Do more harm than good<\/li>\n<li>Worsen a conflict<\/li>\n<li>Rub salt in the wound (\u201csalt\u201d represents the action and \u201cwound\u201d refers to the response)<\/li>\n<li>Twist the knife (\u201ctwist\u201d represents the action and \u201cknife\u201d refers to the response)<\/li>\n<li>Making a bad situation even worse<\/li>\n<li>Stirring up emotions or a reaction<\/li>\n<li>Inflaming feelings of hate\/anger\/fear\/love\/hope, etc.<\/li>\n<li>Instigating an explosive response<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Are there any phrases that are opposite of the \u201cfuel to the fire\u201d idiom?<\/h2>\n<p>Anything that refers to an action or a statement that would calm a situation or sooth a response would be considered opposite of the \u201cfuel to the fire\u201d idiom; the term \u201cdouse the flames\u201d, for example. In this phrase, the word \u201cdouse\u201d is used to calm or lessen a situation a response.<\/p>\n<h2>Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n<p>There are several instances where the idiom \u201cfuel to the fire\u201d can be appropriately used. The use of this phrase adds interest to language and effectively illustrates how a behavior or a statement can heighten a feeling or a reaction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">The term \u201cfan the flame\u201d is an idiom, or a common phrase that\u2019s uttered in several western cultures, particularly the United States. You may be wondering what \u201cfan the flame\u201d means and how to use it appropriately. Read on to learn more about this popular idiom. What does \u201cfan the flame\u201d mean? The literal meaning [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":129,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45\/revisions\/129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}