target

   To most people there are just two things you can do with a target: you can hit it or you can miss it. But for journalists, politicians, economists, and businesspeople, targets are things to be achieved, attained, exceeded, expanded, reduced, obtained, met, beaten, and overtaken. As a consequence, their statements, if taken literally, can become absurd, as here: "More welcome news came with the announcement that the public sector borrowing requirement now appears likely to undershoot its target for the full year" (Times). An archer who undershoots a target will be chagrined. A politician will apparently be pleased. The reader may merely be puzzled.

   In practice, target often is the most efficient word for conveying a point, even if the literal meaning is sometimes strained, but it is worth seeing if objective or plan wouldn't work as well.

   Even more worth watching are instances in which target gets mixed up with other metaphors. Philip Howard cites this curious headline from The Times: "£6m ceiling keeps rise in earnings well within Treasury target."