hangfire
[ hang-fahyuhr ]
/ ˈhæŋˌfaɪər /
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noun
a delay in the detonation of gunpowder or other ammunition, caused by some defect in the fuze.
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use hangfire in a sentence
Other Idioms and Phrases with hangfire
hang fire
Delay, as in The advertising campaign is hanging fire until they decide how much to spend on it. This expression originally referred to the 17th-century flintlock musket, where the priming powder ignited but often failed to explode the main charge, a result called hanging fire. [c. 1800]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
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