miss by a mile

[b.a.d.]

Please, tell what does this phrase mean.

[English-coach]

To miss by a mile is a great expression.

Imagine that you are trying to hit a baseball with a baseball bat. Your friend throws the ball at you...and you swing...BUT you miss.

Imagine that someone is video taping you playing baseball, and that night you watch the video and you see yourself miss the ball. As you are watching you see that the ball is above your head when you try to swing for it at your waist. Your bat was no where near the ball. There was about half a meter between the ball and the bat. You missed the ball; you missed it by a mile.

It just means when you miss something that you had NO chance of succeeding and the chances of you succeeding were very low.

For example, you missed the bull’s eye. You missed it by a mile (imagine that you threw the dart and it didn't even hit the dart board).

If a pilot is trying to land a plane but doesn't land on the runway...he missed the runway by a mile.

Also note that it is more common to say "he missed it by a mile" than to say "he missed the runway by a mile". So you would mention the object before.

He didn't even hit the dartboard. He missed it by a mile.
He didn't even land on the runway. He missed it by a mile.
He didn't stop in front of the house. He missed ti by a mile.

Does that make sense? If you need more examples just let me know. Or someone else will help you out for sure. :)

Have a great day!
Diana
English Grammar. What Would You Like to Know?

[b.a.d.]

Great thanks!

[thod00]

If you shoot at a target you either 'hit' or 'miss' the target. But if you miss, then you may miss by a small distance or a large distance. A mile (1.6km) is a large distance.

The expression may be used in many contexts, and can simply mean unrelated.

[Torrance88]

I find this one comes in handy a lot, particularly when reviewing artistic efforts. I believe it can also be "miss is as good as a mile", meaning, in so many words, that reaching a predestined goal is essential in some cases. It doesn't matter how close you were, the end result is all that matters. Besides the most obvious literal uses, an array of other occassions arise when it can be used.

I use this when certain songs have a really uninspired bass line or directors ruin the ambiance of a movie by using an inappropriate soundtrack or casting someone wrong for a leading part. When you're trying to get swept up in the atmosphere the slightest annoyment can ruin the whole thing.

[VSPrasad]

Fall short, fail by a considerable amount, as in Your guess as to the winner missed by a mile. This expression employs miss in the sense of "fail to hit something aimed at," a usage dating from the late 1400s, and by a mile for a great distance or interval, so used since Shakespeare's day.


A similar phrase is "a miss is as good as a mile" - it doesn't matter how close or far to succeeding you were, it was still a failure, and that is all that counts.