miss fire

Definitions

Dated form of misfire.

alt-of, dated

Examples

“I took aim and drew the trigger, but the gun missed fire. The person hearing the noise instantly jerked back his head.”

“The gun-makers say⟳, that the guns would be continually missing fire, if larger grained powder were adopted. This would be no fault of the powder, but theirs. Why not make⟳ the chamber wider, up to the immediate vicinity of the point⟳ of ignition?”

“This was said in the spirit of a joke, but, as it turned out, it missed fire, as both the arrival and departure of the train⟳ were strictly in accordance with the schedule⟳.”

CEFR level