the.com/point blank
So close the target picks the caliber, not the shooter.
means Said of a shot fired from such close range that aim is almost unnecessary, or of words spoken with blunt, unhedged directness.
from From French point blanc, the white (blanc) center spot (point) on an archery or shooting target. 'Point-blank range' originally meant the distance close enough to aim straight at that white center without compensating for a bullet's drop or an arrow's arc — no trajectory math required, just point and shoot. The sense widened from guns to speech: a point-blank question hits its mark just as directly, no arc, no softening curve to it.
- origin
- French point blanc, the white center of archery targets
- meaning shift
- once meant aimed directly, not just close
- range implication
- close enough that bullet drop is irrelevant
- figurative use
- blunt speech with zero room to dodge