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  What it means

  “To pour oil on the fire.” To make a bad situation worse — to inflame a conflict or argument instead of calming it down.

  Vocabulary

  • dolać — to pour in (perfective)
  • oliwa — oil (olive oil)
  • ogień — fire

  Grammar note

  'Oliwy' is genitive of 'oliwa' (partitive after 'dolać'). 'Do ognia' uses the genitive of 'ogień' after 'do'.

  Cultural context

  Direct equivalent of 'to add fuel to the fire.' Used when someone's words or actions escalate rather than defuse a situation.

  Intermediate

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