set the world on fire

Idioms  

1. Perform an outstanding feat and win fame, as in An ambitious man, he longed to set the world on fire with his inventions. This hyperbolic expression uses set on fire in the sense of “arouse excitement in.” Also see set on fire, def. 2.

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Example Sentences

The Telegraph's Dominic Cavendish also awarded the play three stars and said it needed "a digital-era upgrade, and a shot more vigour, to set the world on fire".

From BBC • Feb. 21, 2024

There was a non-zero chance that the heat from the explosion could set off a chain reaction that would ignite the atmosphere and literally set the world on fire.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 13, 2023

Though “Dune” is based on a classic sci-fi novel by Frank Herbert, adaptations of it have hardly set the world on fire.

From New York Times • Sep. 3, 2021

I think what we are mourning is not this iconic gangsta rapper version of RBG who set the world on fire.

From Slate • Sep. 21, 2020

The horses soared up to the very top of the sky and then, plunging headlong down, they set the world on fire.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton