shooting gallery

American  

noun

1. a place equipped with targets and used for practice in shooting.

2. Slang. a place where drug addicts can buy and inject themselves with narcotic drugs.

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shooting gallery British  

noun

1. an area, often enclosed, designed for target practice, shooting, etc

2. slang a house where heroin addicts inject themselves

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Etymology

Origin of shooting gallery

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

There was a shooting gallery at the fair, and Khrushchev took the opportunity to show off his marksmanship.

From Literature

Of course, this is very dangerous thinking, regardless of how straight Jack Reacher’s aim may be in the moral universe's shooting gallery.

From Salon

Rxd3, and White’s pawns will prove sitting ducks in a shooting gallery for Black’s rook.

From Washington Times

It’s so steep and narrow in places that falling rock and ice can turn the canyon into a “shooting gallery,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times

The Webb was launched spectacularly and successfully on Dec. 25, 2021, but space is a shooting gallery, too.

From New York Times