Near the is an adjective used to modify something that is about to happen but is not happening (a close collision, a close victory). When a devastating event is about to happen but does not happen, we can say it is a Near miss. For some people, the logic of Near miss suggests that it was a missed miss, and so it must have been a hit. But near the IN Near miss suggests something closer than something narrowly avoided. It comes from military language and was originally used to describe a bomb attack that missed its intended target, but was still close enough to cause damage. The term was widely used in reporting during the Second World War and was commonly used, eventually being used to describe something that was missed despite coming very close.
Near miss is the term when something normally destructive (such as a collision between planes) almost happens but doesn’t happen.
This often leads critics to ask a fair question: why isn’t it called almost hit?
“Is your house too good?”
How to use ‘Near’ with other words
Representative, near the used as an adjective conjugation form that modifies something that is about to happen but doesn’t happen. (This is mentioned in the dictionary as meaning 1b of the 3rd homonym: “almost: almost missed or avoided.”
Its use often logically modifies events that are just about to happen. ONE nearly collided is when two approaching objects collide but only pass by. ONE come back soon is when you are losing, then almost score enough points to win the final, but only narrowly lose. The collision didn’t actually happen; Neither does the return.
ONE near the-an accident on Main Street on the morning of September 18 prompted a call to the police. An officer examined the driver of a vehicle that allegedly nearly hit another vehicle after the driver of the second vehicle reported the incident. — Desert islanders in the mountains (Bar Harbor, Me.), September 27, 2019
Even with only 60 satellites – Musk says all 12,000 will be completed by the end of next year – they have resulted in a near the-collision, Ihnatko said.
“They almost collided with an ESA science satellite, an Earth observation satellite,” he said. —Hannah Uebele, WGBH.orgSeptember 6, 2019
In the upcoming election cycle, all eyes will be on Georgia. Since Stacey Abrams’ near the The victory in the gubernatorial race and the victory of Representative Lucy McBath for Congress in 2018, Georgia is now considered a competitive state by Democrats. —Sophie Haysen, Refinery29.comApril 3, 2020
IN Near missthat logic was turned on, because a near miss was in fact a miss, assuming that something that was actually in contact was on target.
‘Near Miss’ is not ‘Close’
Part of the reason for this curious use is its history. In military parlance, a bomb attack that misses its intended target (usually a naval vessel) but still lands close enough to that target to cause damage is called Near miss.
That application at least has a little meaning behind it, because there is a concept of proximity applied to near the; like a shot in the horseshoe, it’s not a direct hit but close enough to count for something. But since hitting your target is a very important thing, for the purposes of naval record keeping, such attacks are reported as missed.
The term was used significantly in World War II reports and was almost immediately incorporated into the general lexicon.
Then this salvo crashed. The first one hit the water near the right bow, the other was a Near miss escort ship. Once again we experienced the familiar feeling as the ship was raised and lowered. — Captain William Henry Dawson, LifeSeptember 9, 1940
She was damaged on 26 July 1943 while on patrol off the port of Palermo, Sicily. close the door almost missed The bomb exploded just below the water level with the starboard frigates and caused the damage shown in the picture. — Journal of the American Society of Naval Engineers, Practice. 58, 1946
But even then the term raised eyebrows:
You mean almost hit.
I suppose I do.
But what they say is Near miss. Doesn’t near beer mean something close to beer, but not quite?
Correct.
So one almost missed must mean something is almost a miss? In other words, a hit?
Rather. But don’t blame me. — punchJuly 2, 1941
In war use, a near miss is something that still has enormous destructive consequences. But as the term was used more and more in a general way, that distinction gradually disappeared and the term was applied to something that missed despite coming very close.
Other Uses of ‘Near’
Some usage experts have defended this later use Near miss on the grounds that it agrees with another adjective usage of near the in the dictionary, is defined as “almost unlikely”, as in “a near the escape.”
Some have also speculated that the similarity of Near miss ARRIVE near objecta British idiom meaning “a close call” itself, may have helped English speakers feel comfortable using the former with the latter.
“You’re almost dead,” said my interlocutor. “It’s very near object, indeed. But I have put some things on you now. Notice your arm hurts? injections. You’ve been emotionless for nearly thirty hours.” – HG Wells, Doctor Moreau Island1896
Near miss almost never used to refer to something as close to miss, and any attempt to impose that meaning on the word is unlikely to get anywhere. That ship passed by us.
Categories: Usage Notes
Source: vothisaucamau.edu.vn
