light a fire under

动词 v.

英文释义

动词 v.
  1. To motivate or encourage (someone) to start sooner or move faster. idiomatic,transitive
    — Let me see if I can light a fire under the waiter to get our order sooner.

词形变化

lights a fire under present,singular,third-person lighting a fire under participle,present lit a fire under participle,past lit a fire under past

词源

Referring to a time when, if chimney sweeps were afraid to ascend a chimney, the fire would be lit under them in order to motivate them to climb to the top.
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