Goalpost

Goalpost

On the sporting field, goalposts are posts between which players must carry, kick or pass a ball or similar object in order to score points, or simply a goal. In many games, at each end of the field of play, there are two vertical posts (or uprights) supporting a horizontal crossbar. In some games, such as Association Football or Hockey, the object is to pass the ball between the posts below the crossbar, while in others, such as those based on Rugby, the ball must pass over the crossbar instead. In Gaelic football and Hurling, in which the goalposts are similar to those used in rugby, the ball can be kicked either under the crossbar for a goal, or over the crossbar through the posts for a point. There are other variants too. In Australian Rules Football, there is no crossbar but 4 uprights instead. In Netball, a single post at each end of the court supports a horizontal hoop that the ball must fall through. While in Basketball, where the hoop and associated backboard was originally supported on a post, the posts themselves have been done away with in most cases, and the hoop and backboard now are suspended over the court from a stadium wall or ceiling.

In business, the concept is more abstract, with some performance measure or target being set as a goalpost while achieving the target is often known as achieving a goal.

The expression "moving the goalposts", which means to make a set of goals more difficult just as they are being met, is often used in business but is derived from American football. It is commonly used to imply bad faith on the part of those setting goals for others to meet, by arbitrarily making additional demands just as the initial ones are about to be met.

In American football, especially at the collegiate level, fans flooding onto the field and tearing down the goalpoasts [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV_23aV4Ri0] after an upset victory by the home team is a widely practiced - if dangerous [http://www.kansan.com/stories/2006/sep/07/goalposts/] - means of celebrating.

ee also

*Goal


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • goalpost — goalpost, goal post goal post, n. (Sport) One of two posts supporting a crossbar which forms a goal[3], especially in American football; also, in football the entire structure consisting of the posts, crossbar, and two uprights. To score a goal… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • goalpost — ► NOUN ▪ either of the two upright posts of a goal. ● move the goalposts Cf. ↑move the goalposts …   English terms dictionary

  • Goalpost — Un goalpost de fútbol americano resaltado en color amarillo. Un goalpost es un anglicismo usado en el fútbol americano y canadiense, traducido al español como poste (de gol). En español, es común que se les nombre de acuerdo a su estructura: H… …   Wikipedia Español

  • goalpost — UK [ˈɡəʊlˌpəʊst] / US [ˈɡoʊlˌpoʊst] noun [countable] Word forms goalpost : singular goalpost plural goalposts one of the two posts that the ball must go between to score a goal in games such as football • move/shift the goalposts to change the… …   English dictionary

  • goalpost — [[t]go͟ʊlpoʊst[/t]] goalposts also goal post 1) N COUNT A goalpost is one of the two upright wooden posts that are connected by a crossbar and form the goal in games such as football and rugby. 2) PHRASE: V inflects (disapproval) If you accuse… …   English dictionary

  • goalpost — noun Date: 1857 one of usually two vertical posts that with or without a crossbar constitute the goal in various games …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • goalpost — /gohl pohst /, n. a post supporting a crossbar and, with it, forming the goal on a playing field in certain sports, as football. Also, goal post. [1855 60] * * * …   Universalium

  • goalpost — noun a) In American football, the tall Y shaped upright, now usually of fiberglass, at either end of the playing field, through which a football must go in order to score a field goal. Originally, they were H shaped, with two wooden posts on… …   Wiktionary

  • goalpost — goal|post [ˈgəulpəust US ˈgoulpoust] n [C usually plural] 1.) one of the two posts, with a bar along the top or across the middle, that form the ↑goal in games such as football and ↑hockey = ↑post 2.) move/shift the goalposts BrE informal to… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • goalpost — goal|post [ goul,poust ] noun count one of the two posts that the ball must go between to score a goal in games such as soccer move the goalposts to change the rules and make it difficult for people to achieve something or to know what to do …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

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