Phrase guide

pull someone's chestnuts out of the fire

verb · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

verb

Meaning 1

Synonym of pull someone's bacon out of the fire (“rescue someone, especially at the last moment”).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: pull someone's bacon out of the fire

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To do another person's difficult work.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Calque of French tirer les marrons du feu, which comes from the fable The Monkey and the Cat by Jean de la Fontaine.

Across languages

Translations

15 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: treure les castanyes del foc — do someone's difficult work
  • Danish: rage kastanjerne ud af ilden — do someone's difficult work
  • Dutch: de kastanjes uit het vuur halen — do someone's difficult work
  • Finnish: hoitaa jonkun homma — do someone's difficult work
  • French: tirer les marrons du feu — do someone's difficult work
  • German: die Kastanien aus dem Feuer holen — do someone's difficult work
  • German: aus der Klemme helfen — do someone's difficult work
  • German: aus der Patsche helfen — do someone's difficult work
  • Greek: βγάζω τα κάστανα από τη φωτιά (vgázo ta kástana apó ti fotiá) — do someone's difficult work
  • Italian: cavar le castagne dal fuoco — do someone's difficult work
  • Norwegian Bokmål: rake kastanjene ut av ilden — do someone's difficult work
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: rake kastanjane ut av elden — do someone's difficult work
  • Polish: wyciągać kasztany z ognia — do someone's difficult work
  • Spanish: sacar las castañas del fuego — do someone's difficult work
  • Swedish: kratsa kastanjerna ur elden — do someone's difficult work