strike a match

Those real-life events strike a match that lights the film’s slow fuse.

“We should be able to represent, in a training environment, what fire should or might do in a very sophisticated way, long before we strike a match.”

“It’s easier to just strike a match and light it on fire.”

The space behind it was so dark that he had to strike a match to find the light cord.

"If you tried to strike a match in here, nothing would happen due to the lack of oxygen," Mr Bruce says.