potshot

potshot
\ \ [19] A potshot was originally a shot taken at an animal or bird simply in order to kill it for foodin order to get it into thepot’, in other wordsrather than in accordance with the strict code and precise techniques of shooting as asport’. Indeed to begin with it was distinctly a contemptuous term among the hunting and shooting fraternity. But gradually it broadened out in meaning to anycasually aimed shot’.

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Potshot — can refer to at least two things: * Potshot : a Spenser novel by Robert B. Parker * Potshot, a former J ska music group from Japan …   Wikipedia

  • potshot — (n.) 1858, shot taken at animal simply to kill for food, in other words, to get it in the pot, not for sporting or marksmanship; from POT (Cf. pot) (n.1) + SHOT (Cf. shot) (n.). Extended sense of opportunistic criticism first recorded 1926 …   Etymology dictionary

  • potshot — ► NOUN ▪ a shot aimed unexpectedly or at random. ORIGIN originally a shot at an animal intended for the pot, i.e. for food, rather than for display (which would require skilled shooting) …   English terms dictionary

  • potshot — [pät′shät΄] n. 1. a pothunter s shot 2. an easy shot, as at close range 3. a random shot 4. a haphazard try 5. a random criticism or attack …   English World dictionary

  • potshot — I. noun Etymology: from the notion that such a shot is unsportsmanlike and worthy only of one whose object is to fill the cooking pot Date: 1858 1. a shot taken from ambush or at a random or easy target 2. a critical remark made in a random or… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • potshot — /pot shot /, n., v., potshot or potshotted, potshotting. n. 1. a shot fired at game merely for food, with little regard to skill or the rules of sport. 2. a shot at an animal or person within easy range, as from ambush. 3. a casual or aimless… …   Universalium

  • potshot — n. (colloq.) critical remark to take a potshot at * * * (colloq.) [ critical remark ] to take a potshot at …   Combinatory dictionary

  • potshot — Synonyms and related words: aspersion, blind bargain, bowshot, bullet, cannon, chance at odds, charge, cock, crack, criticism, cut, detonate, detonation, dig, discharge, drop, eject, ejection, fell, fire, fire off, fusillade, gambling chance,… …   Moby Thesaurus

  • potshot — [19] A potshot was originally a shot taken at an animal or bird simply in order to kill it for food – in order to get it into the ‘pot’, in other words – rather than in accordance with the strict code and precise techniques of shooting as a… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • potshot n — With a gun in the kitchen you can take a potshot …   English expressions

  • potshot — n. a sharp criticism; a wild shot of criticism. (Usually with take.) □ Please stop taking potshots at me! □ He took a potshot at my old car …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

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