barn-door

A hunter aims at a barn-door target.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A large sliding door: "barn-door" refers to a door, typically large and sliding, used for a barn or similar outbuilding.
   • A large, obvious target: In figurative use, "barn-door" describes something that is very large and easy to hit, especially in contexts like shooting or archery.

Usage Examples

• Noun (literal):

  • He slid the heavy barn-door shut to keep the horses inside. (The large door of the barn was closed.)
  • The old barn-door creaked loudly in the wind. (The door of the barn made noise.)

• Noun (figurative):

  • The archer couldn't miss the target; it was as big as a barn-door. (The target was extremely large and easy to hit.)
  • He is such a terrible shot that he can't hit a barn-door. (He is unable to hit a very large, obvious target.)

Advanced Usage

• "as big as a barn-door": used to emphasize that something is very large or obvious.

  • The mistake in the report was as big as a barn-door. (The error was huge and impossible to overlook.)

• "can't hit a barn-door": used to describe someone who is a very poor marksman.

  • Despite hours of practice, she still can't hit a barn-door. (She is very bad at shooting.)

Variants and Related Words

• Barn-door (adj): used in compound forms like "barn-door fowl" (poultry kept around a barn).

  • The farmer raised barn-door fowl for eggs and meat. (Chickens kept near the barn.)

• Barn (n): a large farm building for storing grain, hay, or housing livestock.

  • The cows were led into the barn for the night. (The farm building for animals.)

Synonyms

• Large door: great door, massive gate.
• Obvious target: easy mark, sitting duck.

Phrasal Verbs

• Close the barn-door: to take action to prevent something after it has already happened (often in the idiom "close the barn door after the horse has bolted").
  • He locked the safe after the theft — closing the barn-door after the horse had bolted. (Taking preventative action too late.)

Related Idioms

• Close the barn door after the horse has bolted: to try to prevent something that has already occurred.

  • Installing a security system after the burglary is like closing the barn door after the horse has bolted. (It is too late to be effective.)

• Lock the barn door: to take precautions after a loss or mistake.

  • After losing the data, he backed up everything — locking the barn door. (Taking action after the damage is done.)