As Metaphor
In conventional usage, the term "tinderbox" refers to something that is so dry that it could catch on fire with the slightest provocation, perhaps even spontaneously like a forest fire. It is also used to describe a potentially volatile or violent situation. For instance, a prison in which there is unrest and the potential for a riot, said prison could be said to be 'a tinderbox of violence'.
Read more about this topic: Tinderbox
Famous quotes containing the word metaphor:
“A theology whose god is a metaphor is wasting its time.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“By metaphor you paint
A thing. Thus, the pineapple was a leather fruit,
A fruit for pewter, thorned and palmed and blue,
To be served by men of ice.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)