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If you fan a fire, the flames get bigger. But what does this mean as an idiom?
Speaker A: Anna, what are you looking at?
Speaker B: A car stopped on the road. The men are fighting. Oh, no! Now the women are fighting.
Speaker A: Wow! That is definitely going to fan the flames.
Speaker B: It has fanned the flames. Now everyone is fighting.
Fanning a fire makes it stronger. The same can be said about a situation. To “fan the flames” makes something a bigger deal. We often say this when talking about problems but you can also say it about positive things like a new romance.
And that’s English in a Minute!
*This article has been edited and reprinted from VOA Learning English with permission from Voice of America (VOA) for use in English language materials.
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