misfire

misfire
    n 1: an explosion that fails to occur [syn: {misfire}, {dud}]
    2: a failure to hit (or meet or find etc) [syn: {miss},
       {misfire}]
    v 1: fail to fire or detonate; "The guns misfired"
    

35 Moby Thesaurus words for "misfire":
      abort, abortion, abortive attempt, blow up, come a cropper,
      come to nothing, dud, explode, fail, fail miserably, failure,
      fall through, fizz out, fizzle, fizzle out, flop, get nowhere,
      go amiss, go astray, go phut, go wrong, hang up, merry chase,
      miscarriage, miscarry, miscarrying, miss, miss out, miss stays,
      miss the boat, miss the mark, poop out, vain attempt, wet squib,
      wild-goose chase