miss fire

Idioms and Phrases

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.

Example Sentences

“For more than a month, it was humanly impossible to miss ‘Fire and Fury,’” Rubin wrote in his memoir “Words and Music,” published earlier this year.

From Seattle Times

Woman, six children die in Miss. fire: A woman and her six children died when a fire destroyed their home early Saturday in central Mississippi, authorities said.

From Washington Post

The match might be a burned one, it might miss fire, or go out before he had an opportunity to kindle the leaves, or the leaves themselves might be too damp to burn.

From Project Gutenberg

"That's just where you'll miss fire," the other rejoined.

From Project Gutenberg

But the words are quoted in a hundred books and pamphlets, and are used like theological revolvers which never miss fire.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• abort
• fall through