old sayings about fire

My post earlier this week about smoke following beauty reminded me of a few other old sayings about fire-things like:

  • If you play in the fire you’ll pee the bed tonight. (Years ago Pap was burning off a small garden area. One of the littlest cousins kept playing in the fire-Pap told him “If you don’t quit playing in that fire you’ll wet the bed tonight.” Never missing a beat the little boy said “I’ll be swimming tonight!” We all got a big laugh out of that.)
  • Fight fire with fire. (I’ve heard this one my whole life-and I might have even said it once or twice-just maybe.)
  • I’ve got too many irons in the fire. (I’ve said this one in the last few weeks.)
  • Don’t add fuel to the fire.
  • Don’t burn your bridges.
  • Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
  • Where there’s smoke there’s fire.
  • Money burns a hole right through his pocket
  • If you play with fire you’re going to get burnt: (I think this one is perfect common sense.)
  • Burning your candle at both ends.
  • Burning the midnight oil.
  • That burns me up! (Makes me mad-well mad as fire!)
  • I’m all fired up. (If you say this one you could be mad or just really excited about something.)
  • I’ll slap the fire right out of you.
  • Liar liar pants on fire.
  • Light a fire under someone. (This one is usually said like “She lit a fire under him and he finally got the work done.”)

If you think of any other fire/burn sayings-hope you’ll leave me a comment.

Tipper

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22 Comments

  1. You need to write a blog on all the old sayings that comes from a tool that was and is in just about every Appalachian home; the “shootin Iron”

    Here’s a few:

    Straight shooter

    Sure as shootin

    Don’t go off half cocked

    Draw a bead

    Flash in the pan

    Keep your powder dry

    Loaded for Bear

    A long shot

    A shot in the dark

    Let go with both barrels

    And probably my favorite, the most common and the most misunderstood and misinterpreted (even by otherwise knowledgeable historians)

    “lock, stock and barrel “

    If anyone needs an explanation for any of these shoot me a line

  2. I was going to say shoot fire..someone beat me to it. It does remind me of one of my favorite Billy Joel songs though: We Didn’t Start the Fire…

  3. Tipper,
    I enjoyed Miss Cindy’s witty comment. Some of us burn wood for heat. One time I swung the stove doors open to put more wood in and didn’t put my gloves on. Big Mistake! As I was putting in the second large stick, making sure it went all the way to the back, I touched the stove opening and had to whine about 2 hours. About the only thing that’ll help is holding your hand under the Cold Spicket. Like Daddy always said “It’ll feel better when it quits hurtin”. …Ken

  4. Tipper,
    Mercy there’s a lot of “fireballs” on here…Now then, when there is “a ‘field a far” around here it is usually being burnt off by a farmer fixing to reclaim his pasture. That broom sedge burns like wildfire!
    Which is not a sedge at all but a species of broom.
    My Grandparents grew “BROOM CORN” for their brooms, that field sedge or so call broom sedge is just to soft for the dust bunnies in some homes. My Mom and Dad both had a broom and a little whisk broom from the farm. One actually had a little stem with some of the little pieces of seed still attached. The fields around here with sage or sedge grass is just too soft to make a good broom. It fluffy ends might then make a good “duster”!
    Well, I may be all wrong but I thought I would type my “all fired response” to both yesterdays and todays post instead of twittering it like the little birdies!
    Thanks Tipper,
    By the way, this weather has a few of our little birdies very confused. They usually tweet territorial calls starting in February. But some have been sending out “this is my space tweets” especially on yesterday’s 70 degree day! Mercy, things are about to change in more ways than one!

  5. Ok Tipper: One of your Post followers ‘hinted’ at the “BAD WORDS” that are spoken when a naughty fellow gets mad! It has to do with creating fire AND SAVE MATCHES! THAT’S ALL!
    Eva Nell

  6. I’ve heard all but the first and used a lot of them myself, plus the shoot fire and hell fire. Didn’t think about them until I read this. lol

  7. Fire in your eyes.
    Fire in your belly.
    Fire when ready.
    $#!+ Fire and save matches.
    Fire in the hole! (Before you set off a blast of dynamite.)
    Fire at Will! (Poor Will, he always gets fired at.)
    In the line of Fire.
    Hold your fire.
    Tend or mind the Fire.
    Trial by Fire. (burning of witches)
    Tried in the Fire (biblical).
    Fire it up!
    “He Will Set Your Fields on Fire!” (Pap and Uncle Ray)
    “The Mountain Burned with Fire!” (The Blindpig Gang)

  8. I’m sure there are plenty more but nothing comes to mind offhand. My Grandma would tell us boys the one about wetting the bed. Never checked to see if it came true.
    We are at such a great remove compared to our forebearers in relation to fire. It was an everyday fact of life. We can live our lives without even seeing open flames. They. however, used fire to clear land, to heat, to cook, to work metal, for light, in woodworking, to make lime, to make fertilize and on and on. No wonder there are so many fire expressions in the language.

  9. Had to put my thinking hat on for this one. Some I can think of:
    Fire in the hole!
    Firing the furnace or boiler.
    Set fire to.
    Burning up, in regard to fever.
    Mad as fire.
    “That just burns me up!” As in making me mad.
    Running like your tail is on fire.
    And my all time favorite,
    Sh%! fire and save matches!
    I’m familiar with all the rest except the one about playing in the fire will make you pee the bed. Haha!
    I’ve never thought about how much we use references to fire. In reading your post I realize it’s pretty often.

  10. My wife finished her degree at Morehead State University and one of the out of state professors got a kick out of the local E,KY. students calling the fire tower a far tar. The fire tower was in the Daniel Boone National Forest.

  11. My wife finished her degree at Morehead State University and one of the out of state professors got a kick out of the local E,KY. students calling the fire tower a far tar. The fire tower was in the Daniel Boone National Forest.

  12. My wife finished her degree at Morehead State University and one of the out of state professors got a kick out of the local E,KY. students calling the fire tower a far tar. The fire tower was in the Daniel Boone National Forest.

  13. My wife finished her degree at Morehead State University and one of the out of state professors got a kick out of the local E,KY. students calling the fire tower a far tar. The fire tower was in the Daniel Boone National Forest.

  14. Tipper–Here are a few additions:
    All fired up
    Hotter than a fox in a forest fire
    Fire on the mountains, run boys run (Charlie Daniels)
    A spitting fire means coming rain or snow (there’s an abundance of mountain folklore and weather wisdom associated with fire and fire places)
    That mean old woman would make a good fire seem cold
    Jim Casada

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