Definitions
a miscalculation that recoils on its maker
Word origin
From back + fire.
Used in a sentence
“As much of Seattle tries to sleep, the Hellcat supercar goes on the prowl, the howls of its engine and the explosive backfires from its tailpipes echoing off the high-rise towers downtown.”
“A firefighter monitors a backfire while battling the Carr Fire on July 27. […] A firefighter lights backfires in Redding on July 27.”
“It was just after the Biafran war, and all the local people were still jumpy. Any time a car backfired or a police siren howled, they would dive under desks or tables instinctively.”
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Used as a crossword answer1 curated clues
01“Have the opposite effect”8 letters
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