Cliche of the Week 84 – Near Miss

More near misses are found in sport than in crowded flight paths, churning sea lanes and peak-hour rat runs.

Sports writers like the phrase to describe a good effort which didn't quite work, such as a failed shot at goal delivered with skill and style. However, a near miss is, if we are being accurate, a hit. A miss is a miss, but if it didn't miss, or nearly missed, well, it must have connected with the target. Other near misses are more like lucky escapes (another cliche).

"Johnson also wanted to clear up any misconception that the team was proud of its near miss at Duke five months ago." (Chattanooga Times/Free Press, March 16)

"And a couple of weeks ago, after yet another near miss, (Jonny) Evans said he would be too embarrassed to celebrate when his first goal eventually arrived." (Belfast Telegraph, March 20)

"Another near miss concerned the Queen Mother Champion Chase, which was merely dramatic when it might have been disastrous." (The Guardian, March 19)

"His father, Bill Pappas, was a near miss for being a guitarist for the rock band Kiss." (Washington Post, March 19)

"Two Air India commanders were grounded after a near-miss incident was reported over Kolkata." (Hindustan Times, March 16)

Cliche of the Week appears in The Australian newspaper Mondays. Cliches in the media are tracked across the world using Factiva and Dow Jones Insight.

Chris Pash's book, The Last Whale, a true story set in the 1970s, was published by Fremantle Press in 2008.