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Phrase(s): burn with a low blue flame
1. Lit. [of a properly adjusted gas burner] to burn and put off heat. • Each burner on the stove burns with a low blue flame giving the maximum amount of heat per BTU. 2. Fig. to be quietly and intensely angry. • She just sat there with her steak in her lap, burning with a low blue flame. • She was quiet, but everyone knew she would soon burn with a low blue flame. 3. Fig. to be heavily intoxicated with alcohol. (Alludes to the irritability of a person who is very drunk.) • Yeah, he’s burning with a low blue flame. • He’s not just drunk, he’s burning with a low blue flame.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs