Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A random or easy shot.
- noun A criticism made without careful thought and aimed at a handy target for attack.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
shot taken at an easy or random target. - noun Criticism of an easy target; a cheap shot.
- verb To
fire potshots.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a shot taken at an easy or casual target (as by a pothunter)
- noun criticism aimed at an easy target and made without careful consideration
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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Otherwise it just seems like another potshot from the peanut gallery.
The Volokh Conspiracy » Car Bomb Found in Times Square? 2010
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My only "potshot" is that I feel that the main contributors of this disgraceful escapade, should have all their assets & bank accounts etc., confiscated & sold & the money should be put into an account to help reestablish companies that were not involved but are paying the price of someone elses greed.
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It is a bit pathetic that reviewers "potshot" a film simply due to the lack of a pre-screening. only shows just how useless a review can be when it's all subjective - and often biased.
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Letterman also took the kind of potshot no liberal politician would be forced to endure, cracking that Palin “was in New York to pick up some ’slutty flight attendant’ lipstick.”
Sarah Palin and the Scum of the Earth - Dan_McLaughlin’s blog - RedState 2009
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Sure, throw a potshot because it went in the ocean, but it had a scientific rationale.
President's Science Advisor Talks About NASA - NASA Watch 2009
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Maybe Rahm or somebody is taking a potshot at Nelson for nixing Obama's fav Gration.
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Oh boy, Merkley takes a potshot and gets a headline.
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Buried in the president's town hall remarks could be a veiled potshot at the Left for not being more "reasonable" on Social Security.
Daniel Marans: President's Town Hall Remarks on Social Security Contradict Current Policies Daniel Marans 2011
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Even throw in a few Hitler jokes since Brooks can't pass up taking at least one potshot at the villain of the millennium in each of his films.
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Also, the regime has committed brutal crimes such as torturing young teenagers some under the age of 15 and subsequently releasing their images and videos to taking potshot at demonstrators.
Majid Rafizadeh: Why Egypt and Tunisia, but Not Syria? Majid Rafizadeh 2011
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