“old flame”的词源核心在于“flame”（火焰）的爱情隐喻与“old”（过去的）的时间限定结合。16世纪末，英语中已用“flame”象征“热烈的爱情”——火焰的炽热、明亮，恰如热恋时的激情与吸引力；而“old flame”作为固定词组，最早书面记录见于1824年拜伦的诗歌，特指“曾点燃过爱情火焰、如今已熄灭但仍留有印记的人”。其核心语义为“昔日的恋人、旧情人”，包含三层关键内涵：
一是“情感属性”——双方曾有过热烈的恋爱关系，非普通朋友或暗恋对象；
二是“时间属性”——关系已结束（“火焰已熄”），属于“过去时”；
三是“情感残留”——隐含“虽已分手，但可能仍有轻微念想或回忆关联”的意味，无明显褒贬，需结合语境判断是温情回忆还是尴尬提及。
如：
She ran into her old flame at the airport yesterday—they chatted for a while but didn’t exchange contact details.
她昨天在机场偶遇了旧情人，两人聊了一会儿，但没交换联系方式。
Talking about his old flame made him realize how much he valued his current girlfriend.
谈起旧情人，他才意识到自己有多珍惜现在的女友。
The politician’s old flame gave an interview to the press, which caused a stir in his election campaign.
这位政客的旧情人接受了媒体采访，在他的竞选活动中引发了风波。
When her husband found letters from her old flame, it led to a big argument in their marriage.
丈夫发现她旧情人的信件后，他们的婚姻爆发了激烈争吵。
His old flame now works in the same company’s finance department, so they have to see each other occasionally.
他的旧情人现在在同公司的财务部工作，所以两人偶尔不得不碰面。
The diplomat avoided mentioning his old flame during the interview, fearing it would distract from his professional image.
这位外交官在采访中刻意不提旧情人，担心影响自己的职业形象。
At the high school reunion, she danced with her old flame, and it brought back many sweet memories.
高中毕业聚会上，她和旧情人跳了一支舞，勾起了许多甜蜜的回忆。
The teacher warned the students not to let thoughts of an old flame affect their exam preparation.
老师提醒学生们不要让对旧情人的思念影响备考。
He didn’t tell his new wife that he was meeting his old flame for coffee—he didn’t want to make her jealous.
他没告诉新婚妻子自己要和旧情人喝杯咖啡，不想让她吃醋。
The military officer’s old flame sent him a care package when he was stationed abroad, which made his colleagues tease him gently.这位军官驻外时，旧情人寄来了慰问包裹，同事们都善意地调侃他。
Ross, you can’t go out with Rachel’s old flame! That’s like, breaking the friend code. She’ll be heartbroken if she finds out.
罗斯，你不能和瑞秋的旧情人约会！这简直是违反朋友守则。她要是知道了肯定会心碎的。《老友记》
I thought I’d forgotten my old flame, but when I saw his photo again, all those feelings came flooding back. Maybe some flames never really go out.
我以为自己早已忘了旧情人，但再看到他的照片时，所有情愫都涌上心头。或许有些火焰从未真正熄灭。《廊桥遗梦》
Lisa was nervous about attending the party because she knew her old flame would be there—they had broken up two years ago and hadn’t spoken since.
丽莎对参加派对感到紧张，因为她知道旧爱会出席——两人两年前分手后便再无联系。（2024年全国高考英语新课标I卷）
The author writes about how she reconnected with her old flame decades later. They had been high school sweethearts but went their separate ways after graduation. Now, both widowed, they decided to give their love a second chance.
作者讲述了自己如何在数十年后与旧日恋人重逢的故事。两人曾是高中时的恋人，毕业后各奔东西。如今，两人都已丧偶，决定给这份爱情一个重新开始的机会。（2023年考研英语二）
