backfire

backfire
backfire (n.) 1839, Amer.Eng., originally "a fire deliberately lit ahead of an advancing prairie fire to deprive it of fuel," from BACK (Cf. back) (adj.) + FIRE (Cf. fire) (n.). As a verb in this sense, recorded from 1886. The meaning "premature ignition in an internal-combustion engine" is first recorded 1897. Of schemes, plans, etc., "to affect the initiator rather than the intended object" it is attested from 1912, a figurative use from the accidental back-firing of firearms.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Backfire — may refer to:*The NATO reporting name for the Russian Tupolev Tu 22M aircraft. *A backfire, the deliberate use of fire in wildfire suppression. Also known as a Back burn ( See also: Glossary of wildland fire terms .) *A back fire in an automobile …   Wikipedia

  • Backfire — (englisch für: Auspuffknall, Fehlzündung, sowie metaphor. Schuss, der nach hinten losgeht) steht für: des Flugzeug Tupolew Tu 22M, das den NATO Codename Backfire hat den Film Final Night – Die letzte Nacht (Originalname: Backfire) die… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Backfire —   [ bækfaɪə ; englisch »Gegenfeuer«] die, , NATO Bezeichnung für den Mittelstreckenbomber Tu 22 M der ehemaligen sowjetischen Streitkräfte, der zu den nuklearstrategischen Systemen (Kernwaffen) gehört; Erstflug vermutlich 1969, Serienproduktion… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • backfire — [bak′fīr΄] n. ☆ 1. a fire started to stop an advancing prairie fire or forest fire by creating a burned area in its path 2. a premature ignition of fuel or an explosion of unburned exhaust gases in an internal combustion engine, sometimes… …   English World dictionary

  • Backfire — Back fire Back fire Back fire , v. i. 1. (Engin.) To have or experience a back fire or back fires; said of an internal combustion engine. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] 2. Of a Bunsen or similar air fed burner, to light so that the flame proceeds from the …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • backfire — ackfire, back fire ack fire 1. A fire started ahead of a forest or prairie fire to burn only against the wind, so that when the two fires meet both must go out for lack of fuel. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] 2. (a) A premature explosion in the cylinder …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Backfire — Backfire. См. Обратный удар пламени. (Источник: «Металлы и сплавы. Справочник.» Под редакцией Ю.П. Солнцева; НПО Профессионал , НПО Мир и семья ; Санкт Петербург, 2003 г.) …   Словарь металлургических терминов

  • backfire — index reaction (opposition), repercussion Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • backfire — [v] have an opposite effect backlash, boomerang, bounce back, disappoint, fail, flop, miscarry, rebound, recoil, ricochet, spring back; concepts 42,701 …   New thesaurus

  • backfire — ► VERB 1) (of a vehicle or its engine) undergo a mistimed explosion in the cylinder or exhaust. 2) (of a plan or action) go wrong, having the opposite effect to what was intended …   English terms dictionary

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