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fire off
Say or write and send away rapidly, as in He fired off three more questions, or She fired off a letter of complaint to the president. This expression originally (from about 1700) was, and still is, used in the sense of “discharge a weapon or ammunition,” as in The police were instructed to fire off canisters of tear gas. The figurative use dates from the late 1800s.
Example Sentences
We were getting in our cars when we heard that there was another fire, off the 101 Freeway — so we didn’t want to risk driving that way.
He said it was likely airports in Spain and Portugal have independent power supplies, "which will see big diesel generators which fire off when it senses no power from its usual grid supply".
A British tourist has been reported missing in Thailand after a boat caught fire off the coast of the island of Koh Tao.
Maybe he'll find the fire off the bench.
Mourners flinch and duck for cover when his comrades fire off a gun salute.
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