throw gasoline on the fire

English

Verb

throw gasoline on the fire (third-person singular simple present throws gasoline on the fire, present participle throwing gasoline on the fire, simple past threw gasoline on the fire, past participle thrown gasoline on the fire)

1. Synonym of add fuel to the fire.
   • 2005, Andrew Kamenetzky, Fishing on the Edge: He's Not Your Father's Fisherman, Random House Publishing Group, →ISBN, page 207:

     Ish called me, laughing. “Mike, did you know we're in a fight?” We thought it was hysterical, and even joked about actually faking a fight just to throw gasoline on the fire.

   • 2012, Bil Wright, Putting Makeup on the Fat Boy, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 165:

     So no, I wasn't going to stand there and throw gasoline on the fire by saying, “Ma, you're right. It looks like Danny hit Rosalia, no matter what she says.”

   • 2013, Jenna Black, Rogue Descendant, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 60:

     My presence was likely to throw gasoline on the fire, and though I considered Anderson a friend, of sorts, we weren't close enough to justify me sticking my nose into his marital difficulties.

   • 2014, Ben Shapiro, The People Vs. Barack Obama: The Criminal Case Against the Obama ..., Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 182:

     This is the height of racial paternalism—instead of objectively assessing the facts, the CRS was there to throw gasoline on the fire.