miss fire

Idioms  

1. 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.

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Example Sentences

After all the "Bolton Baby" might miss fire by a second or two.

From The World Peril of 1910 by Griffith, George Chetwynd

There isn't one chance in a thousand for us to miss fire, but you must follow—not lead.

From John Marsh's Millions by Hornblow, Arthur

What if it should miss fire, or even if igniting, I should fail with it to light the dry leaves?

From Lost Lenore The Adventures of a Rolling Stone by Beach, Charles A.

I can’t afford to have this venture miss fire now.

From A Chinese Command A Story of Adventure in Eastern Seas by Webb, Archibald

Impure gasolene does not make one cylinder miss fire regularly for many revolutions and then explode once or twice with a croupy grunt.

From The Professor's Mystery by Hastings, Wells

Related Words

• abort
• fall through