J : Anna, what are you looking at? A : A car stopped on the road. The men are fighting. Oh, no! Now the women are fighting. J : Wow! That is definitely going to fan the flames. A : It has fanned the flames. Now everyone is fighting. Fanning a fire makes it stronger. The same can be said about a situation. To "fan the flames" makes something a bigger deal. We often say this when talking about pro..