Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
You are not logged in.
Registrations are currently closed because of a technical problem. Please send email to
The forum administrator reserves the right to request users to plausibly demonstrate that they are real people with an interest in the topic of eggcorns. Otherwise they may be removed with no further justification. Likewise, accounts that have not been used for posting may be removed.
Thanks for your understanding.
Chris -- 2018-04-11
Nearly 900 ghits, with examples from quite a range of Anglophone places. This may technically be a malapropism rather than an eggcorn: it’s not clear to me what “point black range” could mean. On the other hand, the “blank” in “point blank range” seems originally to have referred to the “white” or white spot at the center of the target. So the reanalysis may simply substitute one common target color for another, but I couldn’t find any evidence that that’s how the users of the phrase understand it. Examples:
The grizzly immediately charged. The guide shot the grizzly just above its eye at point-black range, but the bullet bounced off.
http://www.forwolves.org/ralph/griz96.htm
The five had opened fire through the windows and door with shotguns at point-black range, killing 11 people, including two small children and six women, and injuring two others.
http://www-tech.mit.edu/V112/N24/officer.24w.html
“Gradually I realized that I was gazing at almost point-black range at a huge squid.”
http://www.unmuseum.org/squid.htm
But then a gunman standing next to him had fired into the air to scatter the crowds, then turned and shot the Queensland-based New Zealander at point black range.
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12742
These blood-thirsty goons (no other description is appropriate), run these magnificent wolves down to exhaustion and then execute them at point black range.
http://blogs.contracostatimes.com/gary_ … uel_w.html
Offline
The squid example is the first time I’ve seen ‘point-blank range’ (or any variation of it) used in a context that did not involve a gun.
Offline
I came across this post when checking out squid references, and the notion of waiting ‘til you see the whites of their eyes came to mind. Perhaps if the party with the firearm waited a little longer they could see the pupil – a black point – before shooting, which could be around point-blank range for many of us. Oddly enough there are some variants which support this:
A nuclear submarine firing a wwII torpedo at black point range against a ww2 cruiser
Heh, both Deadpool and Dante shooting at black point range and they’re both missing every shot.
I tried no scopingin black ops i went point black point range and miss 8 times out of ten !
Offline
I thought that point blank range referred to a decimal point: 0.000 range means no space between you and the target. Point black would be when your field of view is totally obscured by the target. Black point range would be, faced with an onrushing bear, just before you blacked out.
Offline