wild fire
Preserved but no longer current.
A very old English description of a composition of inflammable materials that catch fire quickly. It is now used figura- tively in the phrase To catch like wildfire, to take on with the public instantaneously.
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 “wild fire” mean?
A very old English description of a composition of inflammable materials that catch fire quickly. It is now used figura- tively in the phrase To catch like wildfire, to take on with the public instantaneously.
Is “wild fire” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.