Brewer's: Fire

(Anglo-Saxon, fyr, Greek, pur.)

St. Antony's fire.
Erysipelas. “Le feu St Antoine. ” (See Anthony.) St. Helen's fire. “Ignis sanctæ Helenæ”.

Feu St. Helme. ” (See Castor and Pollux; and Elmo.)

Hermes's fire.
Same as St. Helen's fire (q.v.).

I have myself passed through the fire; I have smelt the smell of fire.
I have had experience in trouble. The allusion is to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who were cast into the fiery furnace by Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. iii.).

If you will enjoy the fire you must put up with the smoke.
(Latin, “Commoditas quævis sua fert incommoda secum.”) Every convenience has its inconvenience.

More fire in the bed-straw.
More mischief brewing. Alluding to the times when straw was used for carpets and beds.

No fire without smoke.
(French, “Nul feu sans fumée.”) No good without its mixture of evil. No smoke without fire. To every scandal there is some foundation.

Where there is smoke there is fire.
Every effect is the result of some cause.
Fire

The Great Fire of London (1666) broke out at Master Farryner's, the king's baker, in Pudding Lane, and after three nights and three days was arrested at Pie Corner. St. Paul's Cathedral, eighty-nine other churches, and 13,200 houses were burnt down.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Related Content