spread like wildfire

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spread like wildfire (third-person singular simple present spreads like wildfire, present participle spreading like wildfire, simple past and past participle spread like wildfire)

1. (intransitive, simile) To spread or disseminate rapidly or uncontrollably.

   The virus spread like wildfire throughout the Internet.

   • 1789, The Gentleman's Magazine, page 651:

     The propaganda of the rebels spread like wild-fire, and the hopes of the more daring Irish Catholics rose high.

   • 1941 October, “Notes and News: A Highland Runaway”, in Railway Magazine, page 469:

     "We can sense the tension in Perth," wrote the Scotsman, "when the news spread like wildfire that a runaway engine of ancient vintage was heading north without a soul on the footplate.

   • 2023 May 31, Nadia Khomami, “Kylie Minogue ‘bursting with joy’ as new single Padam Padam soars up charts”, in The Guardian‎:

     Inspired by Edith Piaf’s 1951 song of the same name, Padam Padam is a reference to the sound of the human heartbeat, and has spread like wildfire thanks to its infectious nature and brevity (it clocks in at 2 mins, 46 seconds).