like a feoose afire
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Very rapidly. The phrase alludes to the rapidity with which the old wooden houses with their straw-thatched roofs, were burned down once they caught fire.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “like a feoose afire” mean?
Very rapidly. The phrase alludes to the rapidity with which the old wooden houses with their straw-thatched roofs, were burned down once they caught fire.
Is “like a feoose afire” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.