lucifer match

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

As a lucifer match in the hands of a madman, when struck, may be the occasion of blowing up castles or burning down cities, so the tongue may “set on fire the course of nature.”

From Talkers With Illustrations by Bate, John

We were engaged in our last lecture in considering the various methods that have been adopted from early times for obtaining fire, and we left off at the invention of the lucifer match.

From The Story of a Tinder-box by Tidy, Charles Meymott

We found this expedient a very poor substitute for the lucifer match, but it was certainly better than nothing at all.

From My Reminiscences of the Anglo-Boer War by Van Breda, P.

He consulted his watch once more by the flickering light of a lucifer match.

From Despair's Last Journey by Murray, David Christie

The loss of the dish elicited a series of oaths from Mr. Middleton, who called his daughter such names as "lucifer match," "volcano," "powder mill," and so forth.

From Tempest and Sunshine by Holmes, Mary Jane