ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ noun
1. : a performer who pretends to eat fire
2.
a. : a person of violent, pugnacious, or swaggering disposition : bully
another fire-eater … mighty fighter and hunter whose deeds were already epic along the moving frontier — American Guide Series: Texas
b. : a person who displays very militant or aggressive partisanship (as in political questions)
inside all parties there are moderates and extremists …; the pacific and the fire-eaters — Barbara & Robert North
specifically : a violent Southern proslavery partisan before the Civil War
Southern fire-eaters … held the government had no power to ban slavery in the West — R.A.Billington
— used chiefly by northern opponents