roman-candle

Verb capitalized: Roman-candle

Roman-candle (third-person singular simple present Roman-candles, present participle Roman-candling, simple past and past participle Roman-candled)

1. (figuratively, intransitive) To move from or spin away in the manner of a Roman candle.
   • His canopy had snagged on the tailplane of the aircraft, causing him to Roman-candle into the rocky desert ground.1990, Michael Asher, Shoot to Kill: A Soldier's Journey Through Violence, page 189
   • Luckily, the seat parted company enough for his parachute to Roman-candle, and almost immediately he crashed through a tree.2005, Alec Brew, Aircraft Down: Forced Landings, Crash Landings and Rescues
2. (figuratively, intransitive) To achieve or attain fame or success quickly and rapidly.
   • […] Roman candled to fame in Gertrude Lawrence's legit musical, "Lady In The Dark," which put Freud in grease-paint.1956, Variety, volume 201, number 5, page 100
   • Murry (the K) Kaufman, whose seven-year "Swingin' Soiree" Roman-candled Saturday (27), has taped a pilot for the station.1965 March 6, “WPIX Show Will Host Coast Artists”, in Billboard, volume 77, number 10, page 48
3. (figuratively, transitive) To light up with excitement that lacks of focus or direction.
   • Despite the severe shortage of goose-bump manufacturers of late in our jaded, weary world, music never fails to roman-candle the spine.1974, Holiday, page 30
   • I was Roman candling with less frequency; the more accustomed to the chase I became, the less manic I acted.1983, Tony Kornheiser, The Baby Chase, page 124