miss fire

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.

miss fire

1. To fail to discharge. Used of a firearm.

2. To fail to achieve the anticipated result.

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Eirlys	-	Welsh
Zola	['zəulə]
Eliana (1)	e-LYAH-nah (Italian)	Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Meliora	-	Various
Siva	-	Tamil, Indian, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam
Maja (1)	MIE-ah (German, Polish)	Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Polish