Dictionary of Phrase and Fable—P

Point-blank

Direct. A term in gunnery; when a cannon is so placed that the line of sight is parallel to the axis and horizontal, the discharge is point-blank, and is supposed to go direct to the object without a curve. In French point blanc is the white mark or bull's eye of a target, to hit which the ball or arrow must not deviate in the least from the exact path.

“Now art thou within point-blank of our jurisdiction regal.” —Shakespeare: 2 Henry VI. iv. 7.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
Point d'Appui
Point
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