play with fire
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.12 in modern English
26
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
3
Syllables
11
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To put oneself in a precarious situation with a high risk of getting harmed, particularly emotionally or financially.
Example Sentences
- "I'm telling you, if you sign that paper, you're playing with fire."
- "Play with fire and you get burned."
- "Long predicted by climate models, stratospheric cooling is a result of the Earth’s atmosphere attempting to maintain its energy "balance." Much more work will need to be performed before this troubling surprise is fully understood, but it already illustrates the recklessness of this "planetary experiment" that humanity has under way. We are not only playing with fire, but ice as well. As Robert Frost wrote, "Some say the world will end in fire; some say in ice." Either one, he added, "would suffice.""
- "Uganda’s hardline President Yoweri Museveni has warned citizens planning anti-corruption protests Tuesday that they are “playing with fire.”"
- "The Labour party is playing with fire; or, more accurately with its future, and that of the country."