can't hit the broad side of a barn



can't hit the broad side of a barn

Have very poor aim. For example, That rookie can't hit the broad side of a barn, let alone strike anyone out or, as put in The New Republic (February 19, 1990): "Their missiles couldn't hit the broad side of a barn." This hyperbolic term, dating from the mid-1800s, at first denoted poor marksmanship. Around 1900 it also began to be used in baseball, for a pitcher with poor aim.
See also: barn, broad, hit, of, side

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
DebbieDEB-eeEnglish
Early['ə:li]
LucianLOO-shən (English)Romanian, English
Dikla-Hebrew
KaleighKAY-lee, KA-leeEnglish (Modern)
Einar-Norwegian, Icelandic, Swedish, Danish