point blank

P

point blank

Meaning

• to fire something at such close range that it cannot be missed
• to express an issue in a blunt fashion, without trying to soften the meaning
• frankly or straightforwardly

Example Sentences

1. I asked the boy whether he thought that I was pretty, he said “no” point blank, without even trying to spare my feelings.
2. My mom said “no” point blank when asked whether we could go to Italy during our family vacation, I don’t think that she will change her mind.
3. During the Second World War, missiles were fired from point blank They were intended to kill all of the people in the nearby vicinity.
4. She asked me point blank whether I had cheated on the test.
5. The gun was fired from point blank.

Origin

Blanc is the French word for white. In the middle ages, when archery was very popular, the target that was aimed at had a white circle in the middle (like the red bull’s eye that we have today), when an archer would compete, he would point his arrow at the white ‘blanc’ spot and try to hit it. It is believed to have originated in the late 16^th century and is of English decent.

Synonyms

• at close range; straight on; dead on; close up; frankly; bluntly; directly; straightforwardly

Assorted