goal

an own goal

1. In sports, a goal that a player accidentally scores for the opposing team. I can't believe we lost the championship because of an own goal. I was trying to get the puck out of our zone, but I scored an own goal—how mortifying!
2. An action pursued because it seems beneficial but that ultimately has a detrimental effect. Sheila's speech was supposed to win her more supporters, but it became an own goal once she started ranting off-topic. The law seemed promising, but it has generated such strong opposition that it's become an own goal for the president.
See also: goal, own

fall short of (one's) goal

To fail to meet or reach a goal, especially by a narrow margin or degree. Ugh, I fell just short of my goal of getting straight A's this semester. Our team has fallen short of our quarterly sales goal for the third time in a row.
See also: fall, goal, of, short

fall short of the goal

To fail to meet or reach a goal, especially by a narrow margin or degree. The team was hoping to make it to the playoffs, but they fell just short of the goal. Every other salesperson has been exceeding their sales targets, but I keep falling short of the goal.
See also: fall, goal, of, short

goals

slang Something that one aspires to be or have. Despite "goals" being plural, it is often used with singular subjects. Her sleek, shiny hair is just goals. My mom and her college friends are seriously goals—they've been friends for 25 years!
See also: goal

move the goal

To alter the rules or parameters of a situation in such a way as to suit one's needs or objectives, making it more difficult for someone else to succeed, keep pace, or achieve an opposing objective. (A US variant of the more common British phrase "move the goalposts.") Primarily heard in US. I hate arguing with that type of person. As soon as you start wearing down their logic, they just move the goal on the whole thing! We're never going to get the book design finished in time if the publisher keeps moving the goal every couple of months like this!
See also: goal, move

move the goal line

To alter the rules or parameters of a situation in such a way as to suit one's needs or objectives, making it more difficult for someone else to succeed, keep pace, or achieve an opposing objective. (A variant of the more common "move the goalposts.") Primarily heard in UK. I hate arguing with that type of person. As soon as you start wearing down their logic, they just move the goal line on the whole thing! We're never going to get the book design finished in time if the publisher keeps moving the goal line every couple of months like this!
See also: goal, line, move

move the goalposts

To alter the rules or parameters of a situation in such a way as to suit one's needs or objectives, making it more difficult for someone else to succeed, keep pace, or achieve an opposing objective. I hate arguing with that type of person. As soon as you start wearing down their logic, they just move the goalposts on the whole thing! We're never going to get the book design finished in time if the publisher keeps moving the goalposts every couple of months like this! Claiming victory after cutting the tax by a small fraction when in fact you had said you'd abolish it altogether is really moving the goalposts, isn't it?
See also: move

score an own goal

To earn a point for the opposing team by scoring a goal on one's own net. (Used especially in reference to soccer.) We were never able to regain our lead after Thomas scored an own goal late in the second half.
See also: goal, own, score

squad goals

The aspirations, desires, or values of one's group of close friends, often illustrated in an image posted on social media that is captioned with the phrase as a hashtag. Check out this selfie of Jenny and her friends at the library. She hashtagged it with "squad goals." See you all bright and early tomorrow at the protest! #squadgoals
See also: goal, squad

three-point field goal

In basketball, a basket made from beyond the three-point line. His three-point field goal in the waning seconds of the game earned us a big victory.
See also: field, goal

up to (one's) neck in alligators

business adage So overcome or preoccupied by various tangential worries, problems, or tasks that one loses sight of the ultimate goal or objective. The full expression is some variation of "When you are up to your neck in alligators, it's easy to forget that the goal was to drain the swamp." I've spent so much time dealing with various infrastructure problems for my new business that I've had no time to actually develop our product properly. I guess it's easy to forget that when up to your neck in alligators, the mission was to drain the swamp.
See also: alligator, neck, up
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

fall short of one's goal(s)

 and fall short of the goal(s); fall short of the record
to fail to achieve a goal. We fell short of our goal of collecting a thousand dollars. Ann ran a fast race, but fell short of the record.
See also: fall, goal, of, short
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

an own goal

BRITISH
COMMON An own goal is a course of action which is intended to bring you an advantage and which instead causes a problem for you. It was a classic own goal by the fashion house. They brought their prices down to attract more customers but lost the high-end customers that they already had. Note: In sports such as football and hockey, if someone scores an own goal, they accidentally score a goal for the team they are playing against by knocking the ball into their own net.
See also: goal, own

move the goalposts

If someone moves the goalposts, they change the rules or aims in a situation or activity, in order to gain an advantage and to make things more difficult for the other people involved. He was always moving the goalposts so that we could never anticipate what he wanted. They seem to move the goalposts every time I meet the required conditions. Note: You can also say that someone shifts the goalposts. The administration is shifting the goalposts and changing its demands.
See also: move
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

score an own goal

1 (in football) score a goal by mistake against your own side. 2 do something that has the unintended effect of harming your own interests. informal
2 1991 Brian MacArthur Despatches from the Gulf War Television's mission to explain was taken to its outer limit and at times scored an own goal by developing a bias against understanding.
See also: goal, own, score

move (or shift) the goalposts

unfairly alter the conditions or rules of a procedure during its course.
1989 Dimensions Many companies have, in recent years, moved the goalposts so that those who used to qualify no longer do so.
See also: move
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

move the ˈgoalposts

(informal, disapproving, especially British English) change the rules for something, or the conditions under which it is done, so that the situation becomes more difficult for somebody: Our union is angry at the management for moving the goalposts during the pay talks. Every time agreement is reached they put up another obstacle.
See also: move
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

move the goalposts

Change the rules in the middle of an enterprise, usually to make it more difficult for someone to succeed. The term originated in sports that use goalposts (soccer, rugby, football) in the second half of the 1900s. It soon was transferred to other enterprises. Jo Bannister had it in Liars All (2009): “. . . if they parted one day, she’d find someone to replace him . . . He didn’t blame her for that. It wasn’t Brodie who’d moved the goalposts.”
See also: move
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • an own goal
  • score an own goal
  • fall short of (one's) goal
  • fall short of goal
  • wrong-foot
  • argue out
  • cross the aisle
  • ice the kicker
  • icing the kicker
  • arb
References in periodicals archive
Aston Villa: Tammy Abraham, Anwar El Ghazi and Jonathan Kodjia -- 40 goals, 11 assists, 7,762 minutes (152.2 minutes per direct goal contribution)
Revealed: Where Reading FC rank in the most influential strikeforce in the Championship; The most clinical front-three in the second tier has been revealed
Earlier, in the four chukkers played here the other day, Polo D Sufi were enjoying the lead of seven and a half goals to four.
PAF to meet Sufi in final of Tenacious Polo Cup 2018
That goal was deemed FIFA's Goal of the Year andSalah was handed the Puskas award for his strike.
How Mohamed Salah became Liverpool's fastest ever player to score 50 goals; The story of how the Reds' Egyptian winger reached the landmark tally in record time after scoring twice against Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League
The book further details the different types of goals and how to achieve them.
Towards attaining success through goal setting
Salvador, however, managed to field goals in the same chukker but in between, Tito's musing continued that kept Barry's in control 8-6.
National polo championship:three matches decided
goal formation strategy assists individuals in setting goals that are easy to understand and assess when they have been completed (Doran, 1981).
Assessing sales training effectiveness: why goal-setting strategy matters
Kyle Walker (Tottenham, 15 caps, 0 goals): Will be battling Clyne for a starting spot despite featuring in just one of the qualifiers.
How Hodgson's 23 measure up
Here are 11 you simply must have if you want to reach your goals:
11 Habits of People Who Always Reach Their Goals
Jordan Mutch scores one of his four goals, against Liverpool at Anfield
City need net gain in goal charts to stave off relegation
At the end of the program, consumers with high-low range goals re-enrolled in the program at higher rates even though there was no difference in actual average weight loss across the two groups.
Why people find it easier to lose 2-4 pounds rather than 3 pounds?
She was a Director of PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting before founding Goals in Action.
Donna Marie Thompson, PhD, Speaker, Trainer, and CEO of Goals in Action, LLC Leading Goal Getter Group for Business Owners and Managers in DC
In this paper we track the effectiveness of various methods of throwing at the goal used by players in the game of handball.
The efficiency of throwing at the goal procedures at the level of women handball teams-seniors
Groton-Dunstable 5, Tewksbury 4: Senior Hayden Lynch had three goals and an assist, while Quinton Forbes added a goal and two assists and Tristan Lynch had a goal to lead the visiting Crusaders (1-1) past the Redmen (2-2).
Warriors outlast Colonials; Crusaders edge Redmen
"We set a goal to double our business in the Anchorage office within one year with the same guidelines and security we have always demanded of our collateral," says Jeff Gross, president, GOH Lending, based in Anchorage and Costa Mesa, Calif.
The fine art of goal-setting: setting written goals gives organizations an advantage
ONE number is almost all you need to know if you want to bet on goal minutes.
Fifty is the magic number; Soccer boffin Kevin Pullein with his pearls of betting wisdom