miss fire

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Fail to achieve the anticipated result, as in Recycling cardboard seemed like a good idea but it missed fire. First recorded in 1727, this phrase originally described a firearm failing to go off and has been used figuratively since the mid-1800s.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Words nearby miss fire

misseem, mis-sell, missel thrush, missend, missense, miss fire, misshape, misshapen, missile, missileer, missile gap

How to use miss fire in a sentence

Theres lots o marksmen in this world cant even make a gun go off, an yet they cant miss fire in the next world.
Cursed|George Allan England
An ordinary gun might miss fire—such things have been known before now—but a cornstalk gun, never!
The Bishop and the Boogerman|Joel Chandler Harris
Just then the thought occurred to me, “What would be my fate should my gun miss fire?”
Adventures in Africa|W.H.G. Kingston
I prayed that my arm might be nerved, that my hand might not tremble, and that my rifle might not miss fire.
Dick Onslow|W.H.G. Kingston

"I seldom miss fire," said Mr. Symmes, with a look of honest pride.
Little Robins Learning to Fly|Madeline Leslie

miss fire

Words nearby miss fire

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How to use miss fire in a sentence