light a fire under

短语

发音

AU

词形变化

lighting a fire under lights a fire under 三单 lights a fire under lit a fire under lighting a fire under 现在分词 lit a fire under 过去式 lit a fire under 过去分词

别名

build a fire under

释义与例句

v.
  1. 1.

    To motivate or encourage (someone) to start sooner or move faster.

    习语 及物

    Let me see if I can light a fire under the waiter to get our order sooner.

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.

来源：wiktionary