flash point

Definitions

1. The lowest temperature at which a liquid can form an ignitable mixture in air near the surface of the liquid.
2. A hotspot; a dangerous place of violent political unrest.
   figuratively

Equivalents

Examples

“The whole cursed corporation ought to be rooted out and drowned in its own⟳ incombustible product. What is the flash⟳ point⟳ of this condemned coal oil anyway?”

“The flash⟳ point⟳ of new oils varies with viscosity: higher viscosity oils have⟳ higher flash⟳ points.”

“This strategic outcrop is home to a handful of derelict buildings once used to house US military personnel. But it has become⟳ a new flashpoint in the global rivalry between Beijing and Washington, as the US struggles to develop⟳ a coherent strategy to deal⟳ with China’s rising influence⟳ in Latin America.”

“The forces of two nuclear weapons states have⟳ set⟳ about each other with clubs and rocks at one of the most forbidding flashpoints in the world, in a bloody incident that highlights the constant dangers posed by expansionist nationalism.”

CEFR level