close to the mark

close to the mark

Close to or approximating a desired target or outcome; almost correct, accurate, or acceptable. Some of you were very close to the mark on this last test, but no one got a perfect score. His design is close to the mark, but I think we can do better.
See also: close, mark
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • be close to the mark
  • be close to/near the mark
  • too close for comfort
  • too close to call
  • close by
  • close to (one's) heart
  • close to your heart
  • come to a close
  • close as two coats of paint
  • (as) close as two coats of paint
References in periodicals archive
``If we get the basics right then we will be pretty close to the mark this season.''
Cricket: Surrey in bloom at Gardens; GLAMORGAN v SURREY
Objectors felt the title was 'a bit close to the mark'.
Tasty tart just too tempting
Any film that depicts us as alcoholic, calorie-counting, choc- and man-obsessed lunatics may be just a little close to the mark.
M Fashion: Fashion lounge - Checking out
A good operator would use his experience and perhaps historical data to assist his guess and usually get quite close to the mark. A bad or inexperienced operator could waste much time and material before producing acceptable parts because he has no means to translate a given blank weight into the arbitrary control settings used.
Developing a N. American precision preformer
The price usually ends up close to the mark anyway, he adds.
Should you go public?
Sales managers, market researchers, and Wall Street analysts are all expected to come up with reasonably accurate estimates of what's likely to happen to monthly and quarterly sales--and often find that their best predictions don't even come close to the mark. The forecasting models aren't to blame; the problem is just that the real software marketplace is a lot more volatile and untidy than professional crystal-ball gazers like to believe.
Footnote: why sales forecasts miss the mark