Bull's eye.

[tufguy]

Do we say "He hit the target bull's eye"? I am very confused about the usage of "Bull's eye". Is it a formal word?

 

[emsr2d2]

Don't use both "target" and "bull's eye". The bull's eye (commonly written as "bullseye") is the circle directly in the centre of an archery target/dartboard and it's very hard to score a direct hit. It's not formal at all. What made you think it might be?

 

[tzfujimino]

It's an interesting word - there's even a hyphenated version "bull's-eye".

 

[Rover_KE]

... and a truncated version:

bull /bʊl/n

7. (chiefly Brit)

short for bullseye

(Collins)

 

[Tdol]

Is it a formal word?

It is the correct word for darts, archery, etc.

 

[tufguy]

Don't use both "target" and "bull's eye". The bull's eye (commonly written as "bullseye") is the circle directly in the centre of an archery target/dartboard and it's very hard to score a direct hit. It's not formal at all. What made you think it might be?

Nothing, it doesn't sound like a formal word. What should be the formal way of saying this?

What is the proper way of using "Bullseye"?

 

[emsr2d2]

Nothing. It doesn't sound like a formal word. What [STRIKE]should be[/STRIKE] is the formal way of saying this? What is the proper way [strike]of using[/strike] to use "bullseye"?

What are you talking about, Tufguy?! And why, why, why did you (yet again) capitalise a single word inside the quotation marks? It's a common noun, not a proper noun. (I assume that, by now, you know the difference between those.)

We would use the word "bullseye" when talking about a dartboard (or game of darts) or about archery. There is no formal way of saying it. It is what it is.

 

[Skrej]

You'll hear the term used with many kinds of targets, not just archery and darts. It's also commonly used in a metaphorical sense, meaning to achieve your goal or to be correct and accurate.

One (possibly apocryphal) story has it that the term comes from the days of English longbow archers, who used bulls' skull as archery targets because they were hard and relatively durable. Skilled archers would challenge each other to shoot through the small eye hole as a test of marksmanship.

 

[Tdol]

Nothing, it doesn't sound like a formal word. What should be the formal way of saying this?

What is the proper way of using "Bullseye"?

Bullseye

Why would archers and darts players have a formal word for a mundane thing? Watch some darts on YouTube and see how formal it is. ;-)

 

[tufguy]

What are you talking about, Tufguy?! And why, why, why did you (yet again) capitalise a single word inside the quotation marks? It's a common noun, not a proper noun. (I assume that, by now, you know the difference between those.)

We would use the word "bullseye" when talking about a dartboard (or game of darts) or about archery. There is no formal way of saying it. It is what it is.

I have heard it in cricket commentary as well. A player hit the wickets with the ball from far away and commentators used it.

 

[tufguy]

What are you talking about, Tufguy?! And why, why, why did you (yet again) capitalise a single word inside the quotation marks? It's a common noun, not a proper noun. (I assume that, by now, you know the difference between those.)

We would use the word "bullseye" when talking about a dartboard (or game of darts) or about archery. There is no formal way of saying it. It is what it is.

Okay, I got it now but there is another thread that is related to sleep. I capitalised sleep in it. Sleep is not a proper noun. Am I correct?

 

[GoesStation]

Okay, I [STRIKE]got[/STRIKE] get it now but there is another thread that is related to sleep. I capitalised "sleep" in it. "Sleep" is not a proper noun. Am I correct?

You're correct that it's not a proper noun. Capitalizing it was a mistake.