powder kegn.
/ˈpaʊdə kɛɡ/, U.S. /ˈpaʊdər ˌkɛɡ/ A small barrel or container for holding gunpowder. Now chiefly figurative: a dangerous or explosive person, situation, etc.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > equipment for use with firearms > [noun] > container for gunpowder
powder box1379
powder barrel1496
powder poke1496
powder horn1508
powder bag1533
flask1549
powder flask1552
budge-barrel1627
powder chest1627
powder magazine1712
auget1752
powder keg1791
salting-box1802
pulverain1890
1791 Evid. bef. Commons Comm. 65 Frauds were practised by Europeans in the articles they traded in with the natives; such as in rum, by mixing it; in powder kegs, seemingly large, but holding only a little.
1855 W. G. Simms Forayers iii. 39 Sinclair..drew up an old powder-keg by a rope-hitch, which had been made about it.
1893 W. K. Post Harvard Stories 6 One reason why they do it..is to make you flare up, you little powder keg.
1945 Richmond (Va.) News-leader 17 Sept. 7/2 (heading) Argentina's militarist regime believed sitting on powderkeg.
1988 Chicago Tribune (Nexis) 20 Nov. 1 The company also built wooden powder kegs and wooden shell boxes.
1999 N.Y. Times Mag. 22 Aug. 13/1 Overscheduled, pressured children are an emotional powder keg.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1791