backfire

But there’s no way this could possibly backfire, right?

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026

Britney Nguyen looked into a forward-looking factor helping drive the resurgence in chip makers, and how it could backfire.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

“Law enforcement has good intentions but they sometimes backfire with unintended consequences. Often, the more laws you create to prevent people from having a reptile, the more they want them. But sometimes prohibition does work.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

There is a danger, however, that Lego’s light touch might backfire, and parents won’t be thrilled about paying premium prices for a toy that essentially has a few extra beeps and boops.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

There was the loud bang of a backfire and the horseless chugged forward.

From "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep

The company has long relied on this high-yielding equity as its primary engine to bankroll Bitcoin acquisitions—a strategy that backfires when the shares lose ground.

From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026

All of the above comes with a caveat: Unbridled choice often backfires.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026

An attempt to impress the Chairwoman by adorning a space at the club in colonial chic backfires.

From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2026

Is there a chance this really backfires, then?

From Slate ● Jan. 13, 2026

While groans, fiendish gurglings and backfires were emitting from the barn, the house itself would be organized confusion, as the family carried out its preparations in accordance with prearranged plans.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

But a police crackdown on crowds marching towards parliament on July 20 backfired, galvanising support for the movement and transforming anger over exam leaks into a broader expression of youth frustration.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

The chain has experienced other problems as well, including remodels that backfired, agitation among activist investors and same-store sales that have wobbled over Masino’s three-year tenure.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026

According to these views, if the hacking incident was a publicity stunt then it appears as though it backfired.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

His decision to pardon Richard Nixon may have been an admirable attempt to unite the country and move on, but it backfired on him politically and his popularity plummeted.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

But the way it turned out, the whole thing sort of backfired, because by the end of the period the whole class—Toby included—was as hung up on the whole oracle bit as Mrs. Granger was.

From "The Egypt Game" by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

Nestlé tweaked its portfolio, but investors say some acquisitions were a distraction, backfiring as the company expanded into non-core areas.

From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026

In fact, it is backfiring, dusting the world in optimistic, spring-flower pink schadenfreude.

From Salon ● May 16, 2026

The critics argue Lemssouguer relies heavily on borrowed money, or leverage, to boost profits, a strategy prone to backfiring.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 4, 2026

China's approach to urging people to have children also risks backfiring if people feel the government is being "too intrusive" about what is deeply personal choice, she said.

From BBC ● Dec. 31, 2025

Like the rest of the Wizarding world, Bathilda puts Kendra’s premature death down to a backfiring charm, a story repeated by Albus and Aberforth in later years.

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling