touchpaper
Britishnoun
-
paper soaked in saltpetre and used for firing gunpowder
-
to do something that will cause much anger or excitement
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Five-time champions Brazil were held to a 1-1 draw by a powerful Morocco side as they lit the touchpaper on their challenge on Saturday.
From Barron's ● Jun. 14, 2026
While The Crew may have lit the touchpaper for Stop Killing Games' launch, there have been many games before and since which have suddenly been shut down.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
With tennis academies springing up all over China, Wu could be the player to light the blue touchpaper.
From Reuters ● Sep. 18, 2017
If the match was something of a slow-burner initially, the touchpaper was lit during a pulsating seven-minute spell late in the first half that produced three goals in seven minutes.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 29, 2013
He then placed the touchpaper on an old cambric handkerchief.
From Travels in North America, From Modern Writers With Remarks and Observations; Exhibiting a Connected View of the Geography and Present State of that Quarter of the Globe by William Bingley
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
