light the blue touchpaper

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light the blue touchpaper (third-person singular simple present lights the blue touchpaper, present participle lighting the blue touchpaper, simple past and past participle lit the blue touchpaper or lighted the blue touchpaper)

1. (idiomatic) Synonym of light the touch-paper
   • 2019 April 17, Phil McNulty, “Manchester City 4-3 Tottenham Hotsput”, in BBC News‎:

     Sterling lit the blue touchpaper on a thunderous atmosphere when he curled in a precision finish from the edge of the area after only four minutes, but Spurs responded with a double from Son Heung-min as he took advantage of errors by Aymeric Laporte.