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A form of Improvised Weapon whereupon one fills their mouth with liquor, holds up a torch, candle, or if they're really ballsy, match, and spits the alcohol out into it, blasting out a stream of flame.
Possible in Real Life, but only with very high proof alcohol (at least 100 proof, or 50% ABV). Beer and wine aren't going to do it, you'll need a good strong whiskey, 151-proof rum, or absinthe. Anything lower will sputter a bit, if not put out the flame. Also, this should only be done by trained performers with good breath control - if you inhale while doing it, you may suck in flame and burn yourself to death.
Sister Trope to Aerosol Flamethrower.
Examples:
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Anime And Manga
- In the Eat Man manga, Bolt Crank has the ability to swallow anything and later eject it through his hand. So once he swallowed some industrial alcohol ("200 Proof"), and...
Film
- This is how Horny the Clown is beaten in the Slasher Film Drive Thru; the Final Girl spits out alcohol she had in her mouth when he shoves lit birthday candles near her face, causing him to catch on fire.
- This is how the Alpha Betas lost their fraternity house in Revenge of the Nerds. One guy playing around with a mouthful of Everclear & a match set the house ablaze, so the Alphas take over the freshman dorms, forcing the nerds out.
- The fire eater from the circus in The Warrior's Way does this, using it to light the candles on a birthday cake. It becomes a Chekhov's Skill when he later uses it to light a couple of the Colonel's henchmen on fire.
- In The Assassination Bureau, Oliver Reed sprinkles the cognac from his mouth on a cigar, lighting it up right into the face of an assassin who pointed a gun at him.
- Jolly Roger kills a man this way (using a Finger Snap Lighter for the needed flame) in Jolly Roger: Massacre at Cutter's Cove.
- Featured in the spectacular opening of Santa's Slay, when Santa sets a woman's hair on fire.
- In Pitch Black, one of the protagonists is caught in the dark with a guttering torch and a bottle of expensive spirits. He takes a big swig and blows a huge fireball, illuminating the hundreds of dark-loving beasties surrounding him just before the torch goes out and... crunch crunch crunch...
- In the remake of How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, The Grinch does this to burn down the Whos' Christmas Tree after the Mayor pushes his Berserk Button.
- In The Rum Diary, this is done to display the potency of Moberg's moonshine. Kemp later does it to ward off angry Puerto Ricans he stiffed, only to end up setting fire to a cop's mustache.
- Gangster boss Rory Breaker does this in Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels. Take Barfly Jack's quote: "Rory gobs out a mouthful of booze covering fatty; he then flicks a flaming match into his bird's nest and the man's lit up like a leaky gas pipe."
Literature
- In the Discworld book Feet of Clay, Nobby Nobbs does this by accident when a Spit Take after a glass of very, very, very strong brandy combines with a lit cigar. He seizes the opportunity to run as fast as he can, though.
- A human warrior once did this in Daughter of the Drow (Starlight and Shadows trilogy) — not for damage, but to disable an opponent with infravision.
Live Action TV
- One of Xena's signature moves.
- In the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia episode "The Gang Solves the Gas Crisis," Mac and Charlie show off by doing this with mouthfuls of gasoline. They're not bright, those guys.
- Allen Haff does one for real in an episode of Auction Hunters; he uses some very strong moonshine to pull it off.
- In the MacGyver episode "The Eye of Osiris", Mac throws alcohol in the face of a man holding a torch, setting the man's hat and shirt on fire.
- Danger5. Soviet Bottle Fairy Battle Babe Ilsa takes a swig from a bottle and squirts it in the face of a fire-breathing lizardman.
Music
Tabletop Games
- The drunken master monk prestige class from Dungeons & Dragons can preform this feat with alcohol that they have already drank when they are drunk enough.
Video Games
Web Original
Western Animation
- Pictured above, Monsignor Martinez does this with communion wine. As pointed out above, this should not be a strong enough alcohol to produce the effect, but oh well.
- In a Christmas Episode of Family Guy, an enraged Lois does this to Frosty the Snowman.
- This happens in Rango even though there is no liquor (cactus juice) and no flame (though he did swallow a lit cigar beforehand).
- Pickles from The Oblongs did this, only she just used a lighter and her alcohol-soaked breath. She tells Bob that she's good for welding, but she's too drunk to drive.
Real Life
- Still a popular performance art today, with carnival fire-eaters, or fire dancers like Patika Starr.
- Performers are more likely to use kerosene or lamp oil, though, because alcohol burns with a pale blue flame that's almost invisible in daylight.
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