hỏa thượng thiêm du
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Oil onto the fire — goading a blaze that needed calming.
Literally: atop fire, add oil
Examples
Nó đang giận, đừng hỏa thượng thiêm du.He's furious — don't pour oil on the fire.
Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)
Sources & notes
Discovered via Tục ngữ, cổ ngữ, gia ngôn (Huỳnh Tịnh Của, 1897; public domain, via vi.wikisource); retrieved 2026-08-01. Source: source ↗ Attested in Tục ngữ, cổ ngữ, gia ngôn (Huỳnh Tịnh Của, 1897). Definition is an original editorial synthesis, not copied from the source.
Common questions
What does “hỏa thượng thiêm du” mean?
Oil onto the fire — goading a blaze that needed calming. Literally: atop fire, add oil
Is “hỏa thượng thiêm du” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.