shoot blanks
Fail to conceive
To shoot blanks is to fire a gun loaded with blank cartridges—rounds with powder but no projectile.
More commonly, the phrase is slang for male infertility: a man who shoots blanks produces semen without viable sperm.
After the vasectomy, he's shooting blanks.
The metaphor links ejaculation to gunfire, with "blanks" meaning nothing effective comes out.
- sterilityAbsence of microbes or fertility
- misfireFailure to discharge
- starter pistolBlank-firing race signal
- live roundsFunctional, lethal ammunition
- dudFailed device or effort
dry fire · failure · ineffectiveness · impotence · vasectomy · malfunction · firing pin · childless · urology · kill · reproductive health · fertility clinic · assisted reproduction · baby fever · recoil · sperm count · infertility · low sperm count