So, what is the origin of this expression? Well, it's easy to make the connection between, let's say, the literal meaning and the figurative meaning of the expression. Fire, we know that it's a dangerous natural element. It can be destructive, devastating. If a house catches fire, if a car catches fire, if the forest catches fire or even if we burn ourselves with fire, it can be very dangerous. So playing with fire is exposing yourself to danger because you risk burning yourself or burning something. So it actually means that we take risks, that we act recklessly, that we do something dangerous that can lead to unfortunate consequences.
the expression "tempting the devil", which more or less means the same thing, always referring to getting close to something dangerous that could harm us, cause us harm.
To make it more concrete for you, I'm going to illustrate the expression with three examples that I'm sure will make sense to you. So the first example: "He never respects the speed limits on the road. He's playing with fire." So here, the person who doesn't respect the speed limits on the road, well, they risk getting flashed, they risk getting stopped by the police, they risk getting a fine. That's why we say that they're playing with fire.
For the second example: "He doesn't want netherlands whatsapp number data to wear a helmet to ride a bike, he's playing with fire". Here, quite simply, the person who doesn't want to wear a helmet to ride a bike, roller skate, scooter, etc. well, the person is playing with fire, because if they fall, they risk hurting themselves badly, or even injuring their head.
And the third example: "Going out in a short-sleeved t-shirt when it's minus 2 degrees outside is playing with fire." Indeed, the person who goes out and doesn't wear a coat, who doesn't cover up, when it's very cold outside, well, they're playing with fire because they risk getting sick.
That's the meaning of this expression. It is very often used, let's say orally. So it's not an expression that you will actually hear every day, but you will inevitably come across it from time to time.
Now, like every week, let's practice your pronunciation. So today, we chose the verb "to play", which we conjugated in all persons. So I'll let you repeat after me each little sentence with the verb "to play".