Nancy Matos

Reader Question: “A.I.G.'s Bailout Priorities Are in Critics' Cross Hairs.”

How do you understand “in Critics' Cross Hairs”?

My comments: By definition, according to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, a crosshair is “a fine wire or thread in the focus of the eyepiece of an optical instrument used as a reference line in the field or for marking the instrumental axis.” Think of that like the lines at the end of a rifle to zero in on a target.

In the example cited above in reader’s question, the use of crosshairs is for describing something at the center of one’s attention, or in view. Another example of crosshairs used in that example could be understood with the following sentence: The war on terrorism has put Osama Bin Laden in the crosshairs.

On a completely different note, crosshair can be found in the song lyrics of Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand’s 2004 hit single Take Me Out:

So if you're lonely You know I'm here waiting for you I'm just a crosshair I'm just a shot away from you.

In this case, by saying “I’m just a crosshair, I’m just a shot away from you”, the subject is stating that he is very near and in view.

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Nancy Matos is a foreign expert at China Daily Website. Born and raised in Vancouver, Canada, Nancy is a graduate of the Broadcast Journalism and Media program at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Her journalism career in broadcast and print has taken her around the world from New York to Portugal and now Beijing. Nancy is happy to make the move to China and join the China Daily team.