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Q&A "...and the fire from the stove engulfed him" or "jumped on him" or "covered him" or "devoured him" or what?

How big is this stove? I'm not asking idly. "Engulfed" means (as noted by others) "completely surrounded." If a fire engulfs someone, he is surrounded, head to foot, in flames. How can he be yell...

posted 13y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-13T11:59:57Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/2283
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T01:27:41Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/2283
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T01:27:41Z (almost 5 years ago)
How big is this stove?

I'm not asking idly. "Engulfed" means (as noted by others) "completely surrounded." If a fire engulfs someone, he is surrounded, head to foot, in flames. How can he be yelling that he's on fire if he's burning everywhere? And how can he be swallowed by fire if it's just a cooking fire from something burning in an oven? (I assume "oven," as you don't open a stove. A stove is a rangetop of freestanding burners.)

Maybe your problem is that it's not that _he_ is on fire. It's one or a few body parts which are burning.

so howzabout this:

> He opened the oven to check on the [food/dish]. Flames roared out, catching him full in the face. He shrieked and batted at his burning hair and skin with the oven mitts. Hot grease ran down the gloves to his thin sleeves, where it started to smoke. "Help! I'm on fire!" he shouted.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2011-03-28T13:40:22Z (over 13 years ago)
Original score: 7