Definition 📚
spread like wildfire, to – To disseminate or propagate very quickly. The metaphor originates from the rapid and uncontrollable spread of a wildfire. Anything described by this idiom spreads with unwarranted speed and intensity, akin to how dry brush and harsh winds escalate a simple spark into a raging inferno.
Wildfire here denotes a combination of flammable materials that catch fire very fast, with unstoppable momentum until something burns out!
Synonyms 🪧
- Catch on fast
- Spread rapidly
- Go viral
- Disseminate rapidly
- Proliferate quickly
Antonyms 🚫
- Spread slowly
- Trickle
- Linger
- Dawdle in dissemination
- Move at a snail’s pace
Related Terms 🌟
- Wildfire (literal)
- Blaze a trail
- Go up in flames (literal and figurative)
- Spread like an epidemic
- Ripple effect
Fun Analogy Quotations 😄
- “Rumor travels faster, but truth has longer legs.” – Old Proverb 🌐
- “Gossiping and net surfing are the only things good at spreading without contamination.” – Herbert Samuel
- “News travels fast, but gossip travels faster, don’t worry about pipes leaking here!” – Anonymous Retiree
Inspirational Thought 🎈
“Rapid spreading ideas can ignite positive transformations just like a wildfire. Harness that speed for the better!”
Classic Literature Reference 📕
“Venetia” by Benjamin Disraeli (1837): “The report . . . spread like wild fire through the town.”
“The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1850): Gossip about Hester Prynne’s “A” spreads through Puritan society like wildfire.
Films & Songs 🎥🎶
- Movie: “Scandal (2013)” - Scandal spreads through the town like wildfire— similarly intense and uncontainable.
- Song: “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel - Discusses events that “spread like wildfire” through the rapid dissemination of news.
Until next time, may your positive ideas spread like wildfire and your worries burn out as quickly as they come.
- Felix P. Lyfer
