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I work in construction and am involved with safety. One term used in safety to refer to an accident that had “almost happened but did'nt†is commonly refered to as a “near miss accident.†Lately I have been noticing people correcting this saying that the term should actually be “near hit accident†and arguing that the term near miss actually means that the event happened, just barely. Which term is correct? I have googled this and get a variety of opinions, nothing definite. Thanks!
OED's defination of “NEARâ€:Within a (very) little, all but, almost. (Freq. intensified by very, well, or full. Now usually expressed by NEARLY.) In general use, esp. with pas. pples. or verbs to denote that an action is all but completed or accomplished…As in this sentence: The boy nearly fell into the river. Did the boy actually fall into the river or not? The fact is he DID NOT…
I dare not say “NEAR MISS ACCIDENT†is incorrect but I personally think “NEAR/NEARLY HIT ACCIDENT†is definitely more intelligible…
“Near miss†is in the dictionary while “near hit†is not. “Near miss†makes linguistic sense; the “miss†means that a collision - or an accident - was avoided and the “near†means by a narrow margin. Saying “near miss†rather than “near hit†puts more emphasis on the fact that the two objects did miss each other, if only narrowly. A “near miss†can also mean falling slightly short of a goal or success.
I would agree with Hanson that in the sentence, “Yao Ming nearly missed the free throw,†Yao actually did make the basket, but it almost didn't make it. On the other hand, if the ball looked like it was going to make it, but unexpectedly didn't, then it would be called a “near miss.â€
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
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