spit fire

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Sense 1

Meaning · English

to speak or perform with great energy and passion

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

nói hoặc biểu diễn với năng lượng và đam mê lớn

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: to spit flames
Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

The rapper spit fire during her concert

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.

Sense 2

Meaning · English

A violent, pettish, or passionate person.

Era: ca. 1811 (Georgian)

Where it’s used: Origin British & Irish English
Sources & notes

Historical definition reproduced from Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811 edition, public domain; Project Gutenberg #5402, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.

Common questions

What does “spit fire” mean?

to speak or perform with great energy and passion Literally: to spit flames

Is “spit fire” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.