goalpost

noun
/ˈɡəʊlpəʊst/UK/ˈɡoʊlpoʊst/US

Etymology

From goal + post.

  1. derived from postis
  2. derived from post
  3. derived from post
  4. inherited from post
  5. compounded as goalpost — “goal + post

Definitions

  1. One of the two vertical side poles of a goal.

    • Some kids were having a kickabout on the grass beside the walkway, cheering, groaning, calling for the ball, absorbed in the game, a self-contained universe marked out by jackets for goalposts and invisible touchlines.
  2. The tall Y-shaped upright, now usually of fiberglass, at either end of the playing field,…

    The tall Y-shaped upright, now usually of fiberglass, at either end of the playing field, through which a football must go in order for a field goal to be scored. (They were originally H-shaped, with one wooden post on either side.)

  3. A rule or target that is "moved" (changed) unfairly

    A rule or target that is "moved" (changed) unfairly; see move the goalposts.

    • […] whatever you eat, how much you drink, you know the goalposts keep moving all the time, and it's difficult to be sure that, but I don't think it's harmful, not the amount I drink.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for goalpost. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA