Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

Powder Keg

Definition: Powder Keg

Powder Keg

Noun

1. A potentially explosive state.

2. Keg (usually made of metal) for gunpowder or blasting powder.

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 


Specialty Definition: Powder Keg

DomainDefinition

Mining

A small metal keg for black blasting powder, usually having a capacitysufficient for 25 lb (13.5 kg) of powder. CF:powder barrel. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Modern Usage: Powder Keg

DomainUsage

Lyrics

We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks (TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART; performing artist: Bonnie Tyler)

Movie/TV Titles

Balkan Powder Keg (1944)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Commercial Usage: Powder Keg

DomainTitle

Books

  • Fifteen men on a powder keg; a history of the U.N. Security Council (reference)

  • Powder Keg (Creed, No 3) (reference)

  • Powder Keg in the Middle East: The Struggle for Gulf Security (reference)

  • San Juan the Powder Keg Island: The Settlers Own Stories (reference)

  • The Powder keg derby and other selections (reference)

    (more book examples)

  

Music

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Non-Fiction Usage: Powder Keg

SubjectTopicQuote

Economic History

Serbia and Montenegro

Serb animosity against the Hapsburgs reached a climax on June 28, 1914, when the Austrian archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo by a Bosnian Serb, Gavrilo Princip--the spark that lit the powder keg of World War I. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

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Speeches: Powder Keg

SpeakerTermPhrase(s)

Bill Clinton

1993-2001Global poverty is a powder keg that could be ignited by our indifference.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Powder Keg

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.
 
ExpressionFrequency
per Day

powder keg

22
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Modern Translation: Powder Keg

Language Translations for "powder keg"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.

Albanian

  

rrezik shpërthimi, fuçi baruti, bucelë baruti. (various references)

   

Bulgarian 

  

метален съд за барут, барутен погреб. (various references)

   

French

  

baril de poudre. (various references)

   

Italian

  

polveriera (powder magazine), situazione esplosiva. (various references)

   

Pig Latin

  

owderpay egkay

   

Portuguese

  

barril de pólvora. (various references)

   

Russian 

  

пороховая бочка (powder-keg, tinderbox). (various references)

   

Serbo-Croatian

  

bure baruta. (various references)

   

Spanish

  

polvorín (powder magazine). (various references)

   

Swedish

  

kruttunna. (various references)

   

Turkish

  

barut fıçısı. (various references)

   

Vietnamese 

  

thùng thuốc nổ. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

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Anagrams: Powder Keg

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Words within the letters "d-e-e-g-k-o-p-r-w"

-2 letters: powered.

-3 letters: groped, perked, powder, rewoke, worked.

-4 letters: doper, dower, edger, epode, erode, geode, gored, greed, greek, grope, kedge, kreep, pedro, pekoe, poked, poker, pored, power, preed, repeg, rewed, roped, rowed, wedge, wodge.

-5 letters: deep, deer, deke, dere, doer, doge, dope, dore, dork, dorp, dree, dreg, drek, drew, drop, edge, eger, eked, ergo, ewer.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Alternative Orthography: Powder Keg


Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)

50 6F 77 64 65 72      4B 65 67

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)

    

Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)

01010000 01101111 01110111 01100100 01100101 01110010 00100000 01001011 01100101 01100111

HTML Code (1990) (references)

&#80 &#111 &#119 &#100 &#101 &#114 &#32 &#75 &#101 &#103

ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)

0050 006F 0077 0064 0065 0072      004B 0065 0067

Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)

5081897071842457173

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INDEX

1. Definition
2. Usage: Modern
3. Usage: Commercial
4. Quotations: Non-fiction
5. Quotations: Speeches
6. Expressions: Internet
7. Translations: Modern
8. Anagrams
9. Orthography
10. Bibliography


  

Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.