tinderbox

Thân thiện

A hiker carefully opens a tinderbox to start a campfire.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A box for holding tinder: A small container designed to hold dry, flammable material (tinder) used for starting a fire.
   • A dangerous or volatile situation: A state of affairs that is highly unstable and has the potential to erupt suddenly into violence, conflict, or trouble.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Literal):

  • The old tinderbox contained flint and dry moss.
  • He reached for his tinderbox to start the campfire.

• Noun (Figurative):

  • The region, with its ethnic tensions, is a political tinderbox.
  • The overcrowded prison was described as a tinderbox waiting for a spark.

Advanced Usage

• "to be like a tinderbox": To describe an atmosphere or situation that is extremely tense and could explode at any moment.
  • The courtroom was like a tinderbox after the controversial verdict.

Variants and Related Words

• Tinder (n): Dry, flammable material used to kindle a fire.
• Kindling (n): Small sticks or twigs used to start a fire.

Synonyms

• Powder keg: (Figurative) A situation that could suddenly become violent or dangerous.
• Flashpoint: A point or place at which conflict or violence is likely to erupt.

Related Idioms

• A powder keg waiting to explode: Very similar in meaning to the figurative use of "tinderbox," emphasizing imminent danger.
  • The economic inequality created a powder keg waiting to explode.

Học thuật

Noun

1. a box for holding tinder
2. a dangerous state of affairs; a situation that is a potential source of violence
   • the Balkans are the tinderbox of Europe