set the world on fire


Perform an outstanding feat and win fame, as in An ambitious man, he longed to set the world on fire with his inventions. This hyperbolic expression uses set on fire in the sense of “arouse excitement in.” Also see set on fire, def. 2.

Words Nearby set the world on fire

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.