to produce the opposite result intended; to explode backward or have an unintended negative consequence.
From 'back' plus 'fire,' originally a literal term from firearms and early cars where ignition occurred at the wrong time, then generalized to mean any plan going wrong.
This word moved from mechanics to metaphor—early automobiles backfiring taught people the concept of plans reversing explosively, making it the perfect word for when strategy fails spectacularly.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.