Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Blowback |
BlowbackNoun1. The backward escape of unburned gunpowder after a shot. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
| Domain | Definition |
Computing | A reproduction that is larger than the original. Source: European Union. (references) |
Military & Defense | Type of weapon operation in which the force of expanding gases acting to the rear against the face of the bolt furnishes all the energy required to initiate the complete cycle of operation. A weapon which employs this method of operation is characterized by the absence of any breech-lock or bolt-lock mechanism. Source: European Union. (references) |
| Escape, to the rear and under pressure, of gases formed during the firing of the weapon. Blowback may be caused by a defective breech mechanism, a ruptured cartridge case or a faultry primer. Source: European Union. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Blowback refers to a particular system for implementing automatic re-loading for guns, the others being recoil-actuated and gas-actuated.In a blowback system the expanding gases from the round being fired "blow back" the breech of the gun, which is left unlocked. This system is only really useful for smaller weapons with short barrels, where the breech can start moving as soon as the round is fired. With larger weapons the breech would move too far before the round left the barrel, and can spoil the aim. Thus blowback is typically found only on pistols and submachine guns.
The cyclic firing rate is usually very high, because the mass of the bolt determines how quickly the action operates. Users prefer light-weight weapons, and this causes the gun to cycle quickly. In a blowback firearm, the firing pin is often just a small projection on the bolt. When bolt slams home, the round fires. These guns usually stop with an open chamber. They are also rather unsafe, because a hard bump can cause the heavy bolt to spring the sear. The sear releases the bolt, and then the gun may fire.
Blowback is also a term used in espionage to describe unintended consequences. In context, it can also means retaliation as the result of actions you have undertaken, or revenge taken by those you have betrayed. It is believed to have been coined by the CIA. Given prior CIA support of the Islamic insurgency in Afghanistan and Osama Bin Laden, it could be argued that the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack is a monstrous case of blowback.
See also deniability.
External link
- Blockback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire, by Chalmers Johnson, ISBN 0805062394
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Blowback."
| "Blowback" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Blowback" is used about 4 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 100% | 4 | 175,879 |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "blowback"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Chinese | 回吹. (various references) | |
French | recul. (various references) | |
Hungarian | visszafújás. (various references) | |
Korean | 후방노출. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | owbackblay.(various references) | |
Russian | просмотр с увеличением. (various references) | |
Spanish | rechazo (rebound, rejection). (various references) | |
Swedish | bakåtblåsning (blow back). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "blowback": blowbacks. (additional references) | |
| |
"Blowback" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Bleabeck, Bolbeck. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-b-b-c-k-l-o-w" | |
-3 letters: black, block, cabob, cloak, kabob, wacko. | |
-4 letters: alow, awol, back, balk, bawl, blab, blaw, blob, bloc, blow, bock, bola, bowl, calk, calo, claw, coal, cobb, cola, cowl, kola, lack, loca, lock, wack, walk. | |
-5 letters: abo, alb, awl, bal, boa, bob, bow, cab, caw, cob, col, cow, kab, koa, kob, lab, lac, law, lob. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-b-b-c-k-l-o-w" | |
+1 letter: blowbacks. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
