IdiomNature
Spanish
SpanishEchar leña al fuego
Meaning: To make a bad situation worse.
Literally: To throw wood on the fire
Example: “Recordarle la multa fue echar leña al fuego.” — Reminding him about the fine just added fuel to the fire.
English equivalent: To add fuel to the fire
Origin: Throwing wood on a fire makes it burn hotter, so the gesture makes a quarrel or a crisis worse. The RAE dictionary lists it, and Spanish also says echar gasolina al fuego. English "add fuel to the fire" and French jeter de l'huile sur le feu use the same idea.
Equivalents in other languages
French: Jeter de l'huile sur le feu Literally: To throw oil on the fire
Chinese: 雪上加霜 (Xuě shàng jiā shuāng) Literally: To add frost on top of snow
English: add fuel to the fire
More Spanish idioms
- Tener más cara que espalda To be utterly shameless and brazen.
- Tener mala uva To have a nasty temper or ill intentions.
- Ponerse como una sopa To get soaked to the bone.
- Estar hasta en la sopa To be everywhere; impossible to avoid.
- Buscarle tres pies al gato To overcomplicate things; to look for trouble.
- Estar frito To be fed up or worn out.
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