touch off | Idiomator

Meaning: (transitive,idiomatic)Tostart(something); toset offtraps; especially used for unstable situations that may magnify if disturbed.Be cautious talking about religion or politics, lest youtouch offan argument.; (transitive,idiomatic)To cause a fire to start.A sparktouched offthe conflagration.; (machining)To establish a referencecoordinateordatum, by moving the tool head to just touch theworkpieceor machinebed.A traditional method oftouching offuses a piece of thin paper placed between the tool and workpiece.

Examples:

EN: Only a spark is needed to touch off the tinderbox of the world.
ES: Sólo se necesita una chispa para encender la yesca del mundo.
EN: As soon as Mr. Lawrence gives us the signal, you touch off the time fuses.
ES: En cuanto Lawrence nos dé la señal, enciendes las mechas.
EN: If the Apaches should put in an appearance, all you have to do is touch off the dynamite.
ES: Si los Apaches aparecieran, todo lo que debe hacer es detonar la dinamita.
EN: You'll touch off some more mines!
ES: ¡Activarán más minas!
EN: Don't move, you'll touch off more mines!
ES: ¡No te muevas, no actives más minas!
EN: Maybe when he sees Santa Claus it'll touch off a spark somewhere.
ES: Quizás cuando vea a Papá Noel cambie de opinión.
EN: It might touch off something.
ES: Puede traerle algún recuerdo.
EN: This is Andy Barclay. Eight years ago he touch off the scandal... that nearly crippled, this copany, claiming that his Good Guydoll, Chucky, was possessed by...
ES: Este es Andy Barclay, hace 8 años, Inicio el escándalo... que casi hace cerrar la compañia, diciendo que su muñeco , estaba poseído por...
EN: And I realized at that moment that this was it, that they were going to touch off the fuses to the explosives.
ES: Entonces comprendí que provocarían la explosión.
EN: Might touch off a natural phenomenon
ES: Pudiera desencadenar un fenómeno natural
EN: Will touch off the destruction of the world
ES: Desencadenará la destrucción del mundo
EN: Just a touch off the side, Jimmy.
ES: Córtame un poco por los lados, Jimmy.
EN: He was most famous for inviting a group of Apaches to dinner, then slipping out halfway through the meal to touch off a cannon charged with canister hidden behind a curtain.
ES: Fue famoso por invitar a cenar a un grupo de apaches, desaparecer a mitad de comida y sacar un cañón de detrás de la cortina cargado de latas y hierros.
EN: Every time they'd do something and it was a touch off of what they were out, they'd throw the board and slide... knee slide. You could tell there was no messing around.
ES: Cada vez que hacían algo y era un poco mal de lo que sea que fuera, tiraban la tabla y se deslizaban, pero se notaba que no había que perder el tiempo.
EN: Why wouldn't you touch off the shelf oils..?
HI: तुमने शेर के पिंजरे को ताला क्यों नहीं लगाया. . .

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