In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.
BACKFIRE
backfire, boomerang
(noun) a miscalculation that recoils on its maker
backfire
(noun) a fire that is set intentionally in order to slow an approaching forest fire or grassfire by clearing a burned area in its path
backfire
(noun) a loud noise made by the explosion of fuel in the manifold or exhaust of an internal combustion engine
blowback, backfire
(noun) the backward escape of gases and unburned gunpowder after a gun is fired
backfire
(verb) set a controlled fire to halt an advancing forest to prairie fire
backfire
(verb) emit a loud noise as a result of undergoing a backfire; “My old car backfires all the time”
backfire, backlash, recoil
(verb) come back to the originator of an action with an undesired effect; “Your comments may backfire and cause you a lot of trouble”; “the political movie backlashed on the Democrats”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
backfire (third-person singular simple present backfires, present participle backfiring, simple past and past participle backfired)
(of a gun, cannon, Bunsen burner, etc.) To fire in the opposite direction, for example due to an obstruction in the barrel.
(of an engine) To experience a premature ignition of fuel or an ignition of exhaust gases, making a popping sound.
To fail in a manner that brings down further misfortune.
Noun
backfire (plural backfires)
(firefighting) Alternative spelling of back fire
A premature explosion in the cylinder of a gas or oil engine during the exhaust or the compression stroke, tending to drive the piston in the wrong direction.
An explosion in the exhaust passages of an internal combustion engine.
Synonyms
• (premature explosion in engine cylinder): knock, ping
Anagrams
• fireback
Source: Wiktionary
Back"-fire`, v. i.
1. (Engin.)
Definition: To have or experience a back fire or back fires; -- said of an internal-combustion engine.
2. Of a Bunsen or similar air-fed burner, to light so that the flame proceeds from the internal gas jet instead of from the external jet of mixed gas and air. -- Back"-fir`ing, n.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Word of the Day
24 November 2024
CUNT
(noun) a person (usually but not necessarily a woman) who is thoroughly disliked; “she said her son thought Hillary was a bitch”
Coffee Trivia
