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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The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.

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effect

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Origin of hangfire

First recorded in 1890–95; hang + fire

How to use hangfire in a sentence

But what is there more irresponsible than playing with the fire of an imagined civil war in the France of today?
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President|Pierre Assouline|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
You just travel light with carry-on luggage, go to cities that you love, and get to hang out with all your friends.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The cameraman was reporting on the factory catching fire when the inevitable happened.
Fireworks Factory Explodes in Colorful Burst|The Daily Beast Video|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It was getting to create jokes at the source, and to get to hang out with comedians.
Patton Oswalt on Fighting Conservatives With Satire|William O’Connor|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Lady Edith is so sad that her sadness nearly set the whole damned house on fire.
‘Downton Abbey’ Review: A Fire, Some Sex, and Sad, Sad Edith|Kevin Fallon|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
"A camp-fire would hardly flash and die out like that, Sarge," he answered thoughtfully.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
She got up and stood in front of the fire, having her hand on the chimney-piece and looking down at the blaze.
Confidence|Henry James
The fire had been heaped over with earth—to screen it from prying eyes, I suppose, while the good work went on.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
But, as the keel of the boats touched bottom, each boat-load dashed into the water and then into the enemy's fire.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
The men, whose poniards his sword parried, had recourse to fire-arms, and two pistols were fired at him.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter

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]