If something touches off a situation or series of events, it causes it to start happening.
Is the massacre likely to touch off a new round of violence?
= spark off
PHRASAL VERB : V P n (not pron) , also V n P
If something touches off a situation or series of events, it causes it to start happening.
Is the massacre likely to touch off a new round of violence?
= spark off
PHRASAL VERB : V P n (not pron) , also V n P
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary. Английский словарь Коллинз COBUILD для изучающих язык на продвинутом уровне. 2006