
ProverbChallenge
English origin
To cast oil in the fire is not the way to quench it.
Meaning: Adding fuel to conflict or anger only intensifies it rather than resolving it.
Origin: Recorded in A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, an undated collection published in London by Whittaker & Co. around 1880 and credited to Thomas Preston. Its earlier history hasn't been traced.
Explore another collection: Compliments & Insults
Compliments and insults from around the world, from the sweet to the savage.
- Eres más lento que el caballo del malo You're painfully slow — the villain's horse never catches the hero.
- Testa di rapa A blockhead who isn't thinking.
- Du hast doch einen Vogel You're a bit out of your mind.
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