potshot

[pot-shot] /ˈpɒtˌʃɒt/
noun
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 shot.
4.
a random or incidental criticism:
to take a potshot at military spending in a speech on taxation.
verb (used without object), potshot or potshotted, potshotting.
5.
to fire or aim potshots:
critics potshotting at the administration.
Origin
1855-60; pot1 + shot1
Examples from the web for potshot
  • Two influential economists take a potshot at financial policymakers.
  • For three yuan, they could take a potshot at a rabbit that was also tied to the ground.
Word Origin and History for potshot
n.

also pot-shot, 1836, "shot taken at animal simply to 'get it in the pot,' not for sport or marksmanship;" from pot (n.1) + shot (n.). Extended sense of "opportunistic criticism" first recorded 1926. Cf. pot-hunter "one who shoots whatever he finds; one who kills for food not for sport."

Slang definitions & phrases for potshot

potshot

Related Terms

take a potshot at someone