off the mark

Idioms and Phrases

Also, wide of the mark . Inaccurate, wrong, as in The forecast was off the mark, since unemployment is down , or His answers on the test were just wide of the mark . It is also put as miss the mark , meaning “be mistaken,” as in The minister missed the mark when he assumed everyone would contribute to the supper . All these terms allude to mark in the sense of “a target,” as do the antonyms on the mark and hit the mark , meaning “exactly right,” as in He was right on the mark with that budget amendment , or Bill hit the mark when he accused Tom of lying . [Mid-1300s]

Related Words

• bogus
• deceitful
• dishonest
• distorted
• erroneous
• fake
• fanciful
• faulty
• fictitious
• fraudulent
• improper
• inaccurate
• incorrect
• invalid
• misleading
• mistaken
• phony
• specious
• spurious
• unfounded