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Meaning of "move the goalposts" in the English dictionary

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PRONUNCIATION OF MOVE THE GOALPOSTS

move the goalposts play
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WHAT DOES MOVE THE GOALPOSTS MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Moving the goalposts

Moving the goalposts is a metaphor, derived from soccer or other games, that means to change the criterion of a process or competition while still in progress, in such a way that the new goal offers one side an intentional advantage or disadvantage.

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE MOVE THE GOALPOSTS

movableness
movably
move
move heaven and earth
move in
move on
move out
moveability
moveable
moveable feast
moveableness
moveably
moved
moveless
movelessly
movelessness
movement
movements
mover
movers and shakers

WORDS THAT END LIKE MOVE THE GOALPOSTS

bill of costs
costs
fixed costs
general costs
indirect costs
labour costs
legal costs
Lord of Hosts
maintenance costs
oncosts
overhead costs
postage costs
production costs
relocation costs
running costs
salvage costs
start-up costs
sunk costs
warehousing costs

Synonyms and antonyms of move the goalposts in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

Translation of «move the goalposts» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF MOVE THE GOALPOSTS

Find out the translation of move the goalposts to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of move the goalposts from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «move the goalposts» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

移动球门柱
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

mover los postes
570 millions of speakers

English

move the goalposts
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

गोलपोस्ट स्थानांतरित
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

تحريك قائمي المرمى
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

двигаться по ходу игры
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

mover os postes
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

লক্ষ্যপথগুলি সরানো
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

déplacer les poteaux
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Menggerakkan tiang gawang
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

bewegen die Torpfosten
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

ゴールポストを移動
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

골대 를 이동
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Pindhah ing goalposts
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

di chuyển các cột gôn
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

குறிக்கோள்களை நகர்த்தவும்
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

गोलपोस्ट हलवा
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

Kale direklerini hareket ettir
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

spostare i pali
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

przenieść goalposts
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

рухатися по ходу гри
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

muta stalpii portii
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

μετακινήσετε τα τέρματα
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

skuif die doelpale
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

flytta målstolparna
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

flytte goalposts
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of move the goalposts

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «MOVE THE GOALPOSTS»

The term «move the goalposts» is regularly used and occupies the 75.862 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Regularly used
65
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «move the goalposts» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of move the goalposts
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «move the goalposts».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «MOVE THE GOALPOSTS» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «move the goalposts» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «move the goalposts» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about move the goalposts

EXAMPLES

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «MOVE THE GOALPOSTS»

Discover the use of move the goalposts in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to move the goalposts and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Moving the Goalposts
As his dad continued to discuss the situation with Mrs Brown, Sam turned the new phrase over in his mind. Suddenly, he was struck by a brilliant idea. Right! If other people can go and move the goalposts, then so can I! dEsigNEr goALs Sam ...
Rob Childs, 2010
2
Investing in Corporate Social Responsibility: A Guide to ...
However, if a company has decided not to favour the sustainable development outcome, other stakeholders have the option to try and move the goalposts. The issue of access to medicines in developing countries (see box, 'Access to ...
John Hancock, 2005
3
Trading Options to Win: Profitable Strategies and Tactics ...
We can exit the trade and accept the loss or we can accept more risk and move the goalposts. The practical questions we must ask here are, one, how far can we manage to move the goalposts and, two, has some important supply/demand ...
S. A. Johnston, 2003
4
The Anatomy of a Game: Football, the Rules, and the Men who ...
He claimed that kickers were more successful with wider goalposts, which should not have been news to anyone and could have forestalled Harris's experiment. He also stated at that time that he did not wish to move the goalposts back to the  ...
David M. Nelson, 1994
5
Football Fever: Moving the Goalposts
A collection of research that critically examines the dual themes of change and challenge.
Matthew Nicholson, Bob Stewart, Rob Hess, 2006
6
Ethics and Environmental Policy: Theory Meets Practice
But when winning is redefined, they do not lose. Reevaluating, they gain character excellence. That does not establish anything true about the world; it is just a redecision about how to use words. Yes, you do have to move the goalposts to win.
Frederick Ferré, Peter Hartel, 1994
7
100 Great Branding Ideas: From leading companies around the ...
... with vanilla anyway? Baskin-Robbins had moved the goalposts so far, they'd rewritten the rules of the game. 30. In practice • It's an opportunity to get talked about, 100 GREAT BRANDING IDEAS • 65 31 Move the goalposts.
Sarah McCartney, 2011
8
運動英語
move the goalposts \m move the goalposts change the rules . . . we get this close and the Japanese move the goalposts again. We can't win. — N.Y. Times, 8/17/ 93, A13:1. ft 9 (2) Japanese (3) goalposts mulligan a retake of a golf shot or ...
劉佑知, 2002
9
What Did You Say? What Do You Mean?: An Illustrated Guide to ...
To move the goalposts means to change the aims, the limits or the rules of a situation or activity, with the effect that other people are confused and don't know what is expected of them. Why does it mean this? If you moved the actual goalposts ...
Jude Welton, 2004
10
An Asperger Dictionary of Everyday Expressions: Second Edition
Move in for the kill Prepare to conclude something.* Move it A strong command to do something (the implication is that someone is currently too inactive).** Move mountains Make considerable effort.* Move the goalposts To change the rules or  ...
Ian Stuart-Hamilton, 2006

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «MOVE THE GOALPOSTS»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term move the goalposts is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Wednesday's new signing hits out at former club
“Obviously it has been frustrating that the move kept getting delayed and it seemed when it got close Watford would move the goalposts a bit ... «The 72 - We Love the Football League, Jul 15»
2
Match verdict: York 1 Sheffield Wednesday 1 as Owls welcome back …
... said: “Obviously it has been frustrating that the move kept getting delayed and it seemed when it got close Watford would move the goalposts ... «The Star, Jul 15»
3
Onion republics
... their verdicts on the relative merits of the proposed amalgamation between the Axis and PartnerRe, they decided to move the goalposts. «The Insurance Insider, Jul 15»
4
Issuers seek best solution as regulators move the goalposts
Issuers seek best solution as regulators move the goalposts. European banks have rolled up their sleeves and got on with the job of issuing ... «GlobalCapital, Jul 15»
5
Notes On Watching A Tim Tebow Propaganda Documentary In 2015
... of a line of free trade jockstraps coming to stores in 2017, is how often they are willing to move the goalposts for him, and to what extent. «VICE, Jul 15»
6
Chance to set policy on the right path
The EU must prioritise strong regulatory regimes, avoid policy drivers which move the goalposts, add substantial cost to member states' ... «Materials Recycling World, Jul 15»
7
Iran talks stall as Russia, West spar over arms restrictions
... but the US changed its positions on Thursday, trying to move the goalposts over sanctions relief, nuclear activities and other issues. «The Australian Financial Review, Jul 15»
8
House rejects lifting restrictions on ozone regulations
“Before we finish that job, EPA wants to move the goalposts,” said Rep. Pete Olson (R-Texas). “This bill simply includes a pause button on new ... «The Hill, Jul 15»
9
Relaxed FFP rules leaving Man City fans smarting
Even now, it looks like UEFA are intending to move the goalposts again in order to allow some clubs to spend a little more in the way of ... «ESPN FC, Jul 15»
10
What a brolly boss wants from Osborne
Worryingly, the tax authority seemed to move the goalposts recently by disregarding the standard employment status tests and focusing on only ... «Contractor UK, Jul 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Move the goalposts [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/move-the-goalposts>. Apr 2024 ».
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