Roman candle

American  

noun

1. a firework consisting of a tube that sends out a shower of sparks and a succession of balls of fire.

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Roman candle British  

noun

1. a firework that produces a continuous shower of sparks punctuated by coloured balls of fire

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Etymology

Origin of Roman candle

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Roman candle

“Trees, they exploded and flamed up like a Roman candle immediately.”

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 21, 2023

It was with his Roman candle of a play, The Normal Heart, that his two lives most directly intersected.

From The Guardian ● May 27, 2020

But in penman Robert Hurford’s hands, H explodes like a Roman candle in ink.

From Washington Times ● Aug. 5, 2017

Rather, its involving notion was to focus exclusively on one year in the life of the legendary rock star, the year before he took off like a Roman candle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2014

Otis had barely finished speaking when Percy’s missile-launching contraption spit out one last sphere of Roman candle fire.

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan