The three words, "I can't have _______ (fill in food or ingredient)," and the related phrase, "I'm not allowed to have," often backfire by triggering deprivation, cravings, rebellion, and the eat-repent-repeat cycle.
"Opening wide," the practice of scheduling movie debuts for as many theaters as possible to generate instant hits, has often backfired, causing attendance to plunge by the second weekend.
In the annals of what Leno calls the late-night wars, such provocative rhetoric has often backfired -- most memorably in the case of Arsenio Hall, who promised rather colorfully to dethrone Jay Leno but who lost his show and now turns up frequently as Leno's guest.
With other merchants, that kind of strategy has often backfired.
Even a cursory analysis shows not only that Washington has failed to achieve these aims, but that unilateral sanctions have also often backfired against American interests.
Although these efforts have sometimes backfired, and have often been decried as "too political", they have always been an integral part of American governance.
From postdocs' point of view, however, the good intentions often backfire; especially since the financial collapse, they have often resulted in terminations rather than better jobs.
In any case, efforts to restrict smuggling have often backfired an increase in checkpoints only causing a disadvantage to small-time operators, enabling cartels to take control instead.
