Question

Select the meaning of the given phrase/idiom:
Add fuel to the fire
(a) To make something worse
(b) To cool something
(c) To convince an angry person
(d) To throw fuel at a burning object

Answer 1

Hint: Read the given idiom and try to decipher its meaning. Now go through the options and choose the one that is closest to the meaning of the given idiom.

Complete answer: Idioms are a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words (e.g. over the moon, see the light ). In the given question, the phrase ‘Add fuel to the fire’ refers to ‘To worsen a conflict between people; to inflame an already tense situation’.
Let us thus analyze the options given to us in this question:
Option (a.), 'To make something worse', refers to make something inferior in condition or quality. Therefore, option (a.) is correct as it is similar to what the definition of ‘Add fuel to the fire’ says.
Option (b.), ‘To cool something', is incorrect as it means to make something loose heat, which is not similar to the meaning of ‘Add fuel to the fire’.
Option (c.), ‘To convince an angry person’, is incorrect as it means making someone who’s angry understand and agree, which is not synonymous to ‘add fuel to the fire’s definition.
Option (d.), ‘To throw fuel at a burning object’, means throwing fuel at something consumed with fire, and is incorrect as it is not similar to what ‘Add fuel to the fire’ means.
Note: In this type of question, the student must always recall that phrases should not be taken literally, as they seldom mean what the words in the phrase collectively portray to mean.