backfire

backfire on (one)

To not proceed as one had planned or hoped. My plan to convince my parents that I'm responsible enough to have a car promptly backfired on me when I came home after curfew. The invading army's strategy completely backfired on them because they failed to account for the icy mountain terrain. The company enjoyed huge success in the '90s, but a series of poor decisions backfired on them, leading them to the brink of bankruptcy.

See also: backfire, on

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

backfire on someone

Fig. [for something, such as a plot] to fail unexpectedly; to fail with an undesired result. Your plot backfired on you. I was afraid that my scheme would backfire on me.

See also: backfire, on

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

backfire

in. to release intestinal gas anally and audibly. (Usually objectionable.) Whew! Somebody backfired!

backfire (on someone)

in. [for a scheme meant to cause harm to someone or something] to harm the person who runs the scheme. I hope this plan doesn’t backfire on me.

See also: backfire, on, someone

backfire

verb

See backfire on someone

McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.