boilover
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See also: boil over
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Noun
[edit]boilover (plural boilovers)
- A hazardous situation where an attempt is made to extinguish semi-enclosed oil- or petrochemical-fuelled fire with water, generating steam which propels the burning fuel outwards.
- (Australia, New Zealand, slang) A sporting event with an unexpected outcome, especially a horse race where the favourite fails to win.
- 1953, Pastoralists' Review (volume 63, issues 7-12, page 716)
- […] there was not much good horsemanship. The Derby itself was an ordinary race, something of a boilover for Dark Star […]
- 1953, Pastoralists' Review (volume 63, issues 7-12, page 716)