Following the petition organised by the pan democrats, the principal expressed concern that such a politicisation by the pan-democrats could actually backfire on the school.

Mr. McGinnis said that because of the number of variables involved, fixing one late flight can actually backfire on an airline.

In other cases, there has been speculation that the endorsement actually backfired.

Smith, who admitted that Hanratty's injury actually backfired on the Spartans, stated, "That didn't help us any.

Often, they say, grading campuses in pursuit of improving "quality" and "efficiency" can actually backfire.

For once, the hype actually backfired ("The Last Action Hero").

For one president, reshuffling his team actually backfired.

Some fear that too much pressure on the president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, could actually backfire, encouraging Muslim hard-liners to strike against her elected government.

In fact, Mr. Danforth noted, having a President campaign for a Senate candidate when the President is not on the ballot can actually backfire.

And the guarantee can actually backfire.