Definition
an ignited crisis is likely to cause serious repercussions
Examples
1) The fat is in the fire now that the CEO has resigned.
2) The fat is in the fire now that the news of the scandal has broken.
Etymology
The term is believed to have originated from the flaring up of fire caused by
fat dripping during the process of cooking meat over an open flame.
Synonyms
trouble is brewing, the die is cast
- englishdaily626.com [edited]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If one takes the long view and considers the broad sweep of things, they might
say that the fat has been sizzling non-stop since Prometheus bootlegged fire.
Things have to happen and one cannot help. Whoever said "first do no harm" knew
not what he was talking about as prediction is hard, especially about the
future. Did the Chinese inventors of the compass and explosives, for example,
smell a rat and foresee that their gizmos would in time help bringing a drug
lord's gunboats to their fair shores?
