misstrike

Verb

misstrike (third-person singular simple present misstrikes, present participle misstriking, simple past misstruck, past participle misstruck or (uncommon) misstricken)

1. (transitive) To strike badly or incorrectly.
   • To the musician oft a mis-struck note
     Suggests a brighter strain of harmony;1865, William Cosmo Monkhouse, “Sonnet: Chance and Genius”, in A Dream of Idleness, and Other Poems, London: Edward Moxon, page 160
   • […] scrupulous attention had to be paid to the reality of the here and now lest liberalism misstrike the balance between the desire for freedom and the desire for equality […]2004, Peter Berkowitz, chapter 6, in Varieties of Conservatism in America, Stanford: CA: Hoover Institution Press, page 157

Noun

IPA/ˈmɪs.stɹaɪk/

misstrike (plural misstrikes)

1. An instance of striking something badly or incorrectly, a misstroke
   • Many anglers use a Salmon-gaff for handling Pike. They are splendid things in a boat where only two men who know how to use them are fishing. In the hands of many ordinary men you lose more fish by mis-strikes than you can catch with them.1892, W. David Tomlin, “The Pike”, in American Game Fishes, Chicago: Rand, McNally, page 379
   • Stony-faced Zacharias Jones drummed his fingers on his desk top lost in a trance of invisible notes, chords. […] So vividly did he hear the notes in his head, he always heard a misstrike. When he made a mistake, he was obliged to return to the very beginning of the exercise and start over.2007, Joyce Carol Oates, The Gravedigger’s Daughter, New York: Ecco, Part 2, Chapter 11, p. 402
2. A coin or medal with an irregularity, defect or error.
   • How much should an odd or unusual coin vary from the ordinary run to merit recognition as a misstrike or genuine accidental variety? […] Although die breaks are not considered by many as true oddities, other collectors are inclined to include them as freaks or errors belonging to the misstrike...1974, Brad Mills, chapter 16, in The Official Guide to Coin Collecting, New York: House of Collectibles, page 112

   Synonyms:

   error, error piece