tinderbox

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a small box holding tinder and usually a flint and steel, formerly used for starting fires

   The rider struck a spark from the flint in his tinderbox.

2. 2
   noun

   a dry or highly flammable place or object that can catch fire easily

   After weeks without rain, the scrubland had become a tinderbox.

3. 3
   noun

   a place or situation likely to erupt suddenly into violence or disorder

   One reckless confrontation could turn the tense border region into a tinderbox.

A compound of tinder + box, recorded from the sixteenth century for a container holding dry tinder and spark-making tools. Its easy association with ignition produced the later figurative senses for fire-prone places and dangerously unstable situations.

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