Has Fan the Flames?

To do or say something to make an argument, problem, or bad situation worse; to further incense an already angry person or group of people. The debate was going poorly for the senatorial candidate, and his strikingly uncouth comments simply fanned the flames.

What does to fan the flames mean?

Intensify or stir up feelings; exacerbate an explosive situation. For example, She already found him attractive, but his letters really fanned the flames, or His speech fanned the flames of racial dissension.

Is fanning the flames a metaphor?

Taken literally, this idiom/metaphor means to blow air (oxygen) onto the fire to increase the intensity of the flames. Just as the wind makes forest fires worse. It was used by Dickens in the mid-1800s in The Old Curiosity Shop.