quick matches

Noun

quick match (plural quick matches)

1. A pyrotechnic fuse consisting of a cotton string, coated with black powder, confined in a paper tube.
   • Cast off all the covers of the fire barrels, and hang the quick match loose over their sides, and place leaders of quick match from the reeds into the barrels, and from thence into the vent of the chambers, [..]1817, John Campbell, John Berkenhout, Henry Redhead Yorke, William Stevenson, Lives of the British Admirals: Containing Also a New and Accurate Naval History, from the Earliest Periods
2. An unranked match in a format that is more casual compared to the game's skirmish and competitive modes.
   • Hi,
     Whenever I try to play a quickmatch, I always find that someone leaves the
     game basically as soon as the game has started.
     This pi**es me off, wondered if anyone else was having the same prob.2002 May 16, Chris Pay, “Annoying quickmatch games”, in alt.games.redalert2 (Usenet)
3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see quick, match.