Why is an exciting event called a barnburner? A real barn on fire can be a spectacular sight, with so many combustible materials inside. Metaphorically, then, a barnburner is a “humdinger” or a “doozy.” There’s also a political sense of barnburner...
burner n.— «That mark usually involves a long strip of angry-looking scalded rubber, which can be seen on many of the island’s twisting roads.…And while the work of Chuggy and the native tribe of so-called burners may never hang in one of the...
