Roman candle

English + (firework) Etymology en Noun en fireworks A traditional type of firework that ejects one or more stars or exploding shells. en-GB David Smith The president doth protest too much: Trump’s denial on Epstein is backfiring The Guardian 2025-09-09 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/09/trump-response-epstein-files 0261-3077 [Karoline] Leavitt threw Roman candles, Catherine wheels and smoke bombs in the air in the hope of distracting reporters. But she was unable to quash the nagging suspicion that Donald Trump has something to hide. https://web.archive.org/web/20261017172931/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/09/trump-response-epstein-files 17 October 2026 en aviation A parachute deployment failure in which the parachutist whirls downward at high speed. Derived terms en Roman-candle verbal form Translations a type of firework Czech: cs římská svíce Danish: da romerlys n Dutch: nl romeinse kaars Finnish: fi roomalainen kynttilä German: de römisches Licht n, in Switzerland de römische Kerze f, de Römerkerze f Hawaiian: haw ihoihokī Italian: it candela romana f Lao: lo ບັ້ງໄຟດອກ Russian: ru римская свеча́ Slovak: sk rímska svieca Slovene: sl rimska sveča Swedish: sv romerskt ljus Turkish: tr dahme Ottoman Turkish: ota دخمه dahme a parachute deployment failure Verb en Roman-candle. en 2007 The Splat Conspiracy: America in Peril J. Joseph Higgins 145 At first, Cyclops's chute began to Roman candle, but in another moment, it popped. en 2012 The Mammoth Book of Inside the Elite Forces Nigel Cawthorne Canopies used to be made of silk and when they got wet they would not open, leaving the parachutist to “Roman candle” to a certain death. en 2018 Undercover Agent Mark Seaman That was the theory, but as Corby continued, 'Unfortunately, in operation, this type of parachute tended to "Roman Candle" twist round and round, so that ultimately caused the parachute to collapse and allow the man to fall to the ground unsupported.' en Pyrotechnics