live wire:
(plural: ‘live wires‘; pronunciation: the letter ‘i’ in both these word rhymes with the word “eye”)
a very alert and active person,
a live wire (Carrie Underwood, a young, active, award-winning singer)
e.g.
Our new manager is a live wire; be extremely careful while dealing with her!
Nathan’s girlfriend is a real live wire… full of energy and cheer, which makes the dull Nathan not an exact match.
Young men and women that enter into politics show their metal in the beginning and people and media call them live wires, but over time and after getting enough popularity, they become dead wires!
For an article that pays tribute to a ‘live wire’, a lady with several roles in her life, please click here and for an item of news about a live wire in Italian politics that shows us how we come across this phrase in our daily news, please click here.
(electric live wires)
“Live wire”, also less commonly called ‘hot wire’, is more commonly used to refer to a metal wire that carries electric current, e.g. “Watch out! It’s a live wire you are touching.” For a news item, with a video clip, that reports news of thieves stealing live wires, please click here.
