Talk:Near miss

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This doesn't make any sense whatsoever. If I try to punch someone in the face, and I miss, then *I NEARLY HIT HIM*. NOT "I nearly missed him" which would be complete bullshit. IF I nearly missed him, it means that I DID in fact hit him.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.0.91.165 (talk) 17:49, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

"Near Miss" is an idiomatic English term which is defined in this article. You are correct, the term doesn't make sense. But that doesn't change the fact that it is a term in common use, and defines the article. Wikipedia is a reference, not a grammar text. Ryanjo (talk) 21:10, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

English idioms of long standing are proper English and are good grammar, even though the individual words may appear ungrammatical when picked apart. The nature of idiomatic phrases is that they mean more than the sum of the individual words. "Near miss" has long been used to describe a miss that is still near enough to have some effect.-- Naaman Brown (talk) 13:03, 24 September 2016 (UTC)

The misunderstanding arises because of the tendency in contemporary American English to drop the "-ly" suffix that distinguishes adjective and adverb. If "near" is read strictly as an adjective, a "near hit" makes no sense, because it wasn't a actually a hit.24.69.25.223 (talk) 01:02, 5 July 2018 (UTC)

I disagree. A "near miss" and "nearly missing" are different things. One is an adjective applied to a noun, the other an adverb applied to a separate verb. They both make sense. A "near hit" would be redundant, and "nearly hitting" would be the same as a "near miss." (All this, despite my reluctance to disagree with George Carlin.) Pojo (talk) 02:52, 7 September 2011 (UTC)

"Near" is both an adjective and an adverb. When used as an adverb, it is interchangeable with "nearly". Those people, such as George Carlin, who object to "near miss" are interpreting the phrase as "nearly a miss." All world be right with the world if "near hit" or "near collision" were used instead.—Preceding unsigned comment added by Pbsssmith (talk • contribs) 01:17, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

The term "near miss" originated in artillery or later in aerial bombing, for a shell or bomb that did not strike the target, i.e. the projectile missed, not hit, but was close enough to do damage through blast or splinters. "Near hit" is sloppy English using "near" to mean "nearly a".24.108.28.165 (talk) 00:43, 24 August 2014 (UTC)

In reading military history I have read "near miss" to describe a bomb that missed but caused hull damage by exploding in the water (Anthony Prescott, "Battleships 1856-1977", Phoebus, 1977; Robert Jon Cox, "Battle Off Samar"). As to Near miss (safety) I recall reading "near miss" used to describe several driving situations where one or more parties had to take evasive action (brake, accelerate or turn) to avoid a hit. In all cases, a "near miss" had some effect without actually being a hit. -- Naaman Brown (talk) 13:03, 24 September 2016 (UTC)

I disagree that "near hit" or "near collision" would make things clearer. A "near hit/collision" would imply a hit/collision, you can't have a "far hit" or a "near hit", you just get hit. Alternatively, you can have a "far miss" or a "near miss". Near miss implies a miss but was very close to distinguish it from missing by a greater amount. Perhaps you mean that using the phrase "nearly a hit/collision" would make things clearer as this phrase, just as "near hit", implies that it was NOT a hit/collision but there almost was. 75.166.219.232 (talk) 16:15, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

Near in "near miss" refers to the proximity of the miss to the affected target, not the closeness (nearness) or distance (farness) of the target. The phrase "near miss" describes a "near hit" but "near miss" is a long standing idiom, whereas "near hit" is a neologism that duplicates the function. -- Naaman Brown (talk) 13:03, 24 September 2016 (UTC)

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Wiki Education assignment: Research Process and Methodology - FA23 - Sect 202 - Thu

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 6 September 2023 and 14 December 2023. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): EdereOmnes (article contribs). — Assignment last updated by EdereOmnes (talk) 14:49, 19 November 2023 (UTC)

Requested move 8 February 2026

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: First two proposals moved as proposed; DAB page moved to Near miss (disambiguation). Participants unanimously supported the first proposed move. The second proposal was not supported as widely, but no strong arguments were offered to counter the supporters' WP:DIFFCAPS argument. With the incorporation of partial title matches to the DAB page, participants seem to have shifted in favor of retaining the DAB page rather than deleting it. (closed by non-admin page mover) ModernDayTrilobite (talk • contribs) 17:50, 5 March 2026 (UTC)

---

• Near miss (safety) → Near miss
• Near Miss (band) → Near Miss
• Near miss → Deleted to make room for move

– WP:PTM shows that this is the only topic solely written as "near miss" in lower-case. The band is in upper-case, so WP:DIFFCAPS can be invoked. ᴢxᴄᴠʙɴᴍ (ᴛ) 11:17, 8 February 2026 (UTC) — Relisting. TarnishedPath^talk 07:45, 16 February 2026 (UTC) — Relisting. TarnishedPath^talk 04:11, 25 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support 1, neutral 2, move 3 to Near miss (disambiguation). I've made an edit to the disambiguation page, as certain topics listed there are indeed PTMs. Not necessarily convinced that Near Miss (band), an article which gets less than 5 clicks/day, should lose its disambiguation tag. 162 etc. (talk) 17:08, 8 February 2026 (UTC)

  Why the 3rd move? Why not just keep the DAB at the title case base name since readers may well be looking for the band. Crouch, Swale (talk) 20:36, 16 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support 1st, the generic meaning has 1,540 views compared with only 46[] for the band so is clearly primary for the lower case but the band may not be primary for the upper case so I'd probably keep the DAB at the base name. Crouch, Swale (talk) 18:55, 8 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support per nomination. Since there are only two entries listed upon the Near miss disambiguation page, a hatnote at safety's Near miss, pointing to the band should suffice. If consensus prefers retention of the dab page with entries for safety's Near miss, Near Miss (band) and the three items under "See also", I would not oppose Near Miss as the dab page main header. —Roman Spinner (talk • contribs) 22:36, 8 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support 1 and 2, move 3 to Near miss (disambiguation) per 162 etc.. Thanks, Glasspalace (talk • contribs) 01:16, 9 February 2026 (UTC)
• Support 1st, Oppose 2nd, Move 3rd to Near miss (disambiguation). The "safety" term (terrible disambiguator anyway) is the clear primary topic over the obscure band. -- Necrothesp (talk) 16:06, 12 February 2026 (UTC)

Note: WikiProject Popular culture, WikiProject Occupational Safety and Health, and WikiProject Underwater diving have been notified of this discussion. TarnishedPath^talk 07:46, 16 February 2026 (UTC)

• Support both moves per WP:DIFFCAPS, and support moving the disambiguation page to Near miss (disambiguation) for use in hatnotes. Mdewman6 (talk) 07:40, 25 February 2026 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.