"have fused the flaps" what does this means?

[georgelee12071981]

Hi,

If people say "they have fused the flap over that issue".
What does it mean?

Thank you!

 

[MikeNewYork]

Hi,

If people say "they have fused the flap over that issue".
What does it mean?

Thank you!

Did you mean "defused the flap over"?

 

[Rover_KE]

In what context did you encounter that expression, George? It's new to me.

 

[georgelee12071981]

Dear All,
Sorry, I abbreviated it.
The original context:
Democrats have fused the flaps over Romney's missing tax returns and his years at the helm of Bain Capital to keep the Republican's Boston campaign on the defensive.
From Time Magazine, 8/6/2012
It was the news comment back in 2012 when Obama was running his second term campaign, and Romney was assaulted badly because of some disputable records of his business career.
I always feel confused about the sentence.
Thank you.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Dear All,
Sorry, I abbreviated it.
The original context:
Democrats have fused the flaps over Romney's missing tax returns and his years at the helm of Bain Capital to keep the Republican's Boston campaign on the defensive.
From Time Magazine, 8/6/2012
It was the news comment back in 2012 when Obama was running his second term campaign, and Romney was assaulted badly because of some disputable records of his business career.
I always feel confused about the sentence.
Thank you.

It is an uncommon expression. But it means that they kept the controversy going, similar to "fueled the fire".

 

[Raymott]

I'm familar with term "a flap over something". If there's a flap over Romney's scandal A and another flap over Romney's scandal B, you could "fuse the flaps". But Mike is American, so he's probably right.

 

[georgelee12071981]

Hi,
So, when people say "a flap over something", do they mean disturbance, chaos, commotion over something? or disputation, argument over something?
Thank you

 

[Barb_D]

Maybe it means they have tried to combine the issues, to make it more of a big deal.

I'm not sure-- but don't let it bother you. It's not any sort of common expression and you don't need to worry about memorizing it.