move/shift the goalposts

idiom

: to change the rules or requirements in a way that makes success more difficult

Examples of move/shift the goalposts in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Scammers continue to move the goalposts with different ruses and techniques, and AI is figuring more prominently. Russ Wiles, The Arizona Republic, 20 Oct. 2024 Regulators continue to shift the goalposts in a pendulum-like motion between aggressive regulation and open applications. Matvii Diadkov, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024 That’s not to say the right hasn’t tried to move the goalposts more in its direction to place Swift and Kelce on the left. Dylan Hernández, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2024 Biden wanted to shift the goalposts from protecting Afghanistan’s civilians to training Afghan forces to do the job and lead the fight against al-Qaeda. Philip Elliott, Time, 14 Apr. 2021 Some economists have suggested the Fed could move the goalposts on inflation, revising its 2% inflation target to the more attainable level of 3%. Matt Egan, CNN, 7 Sep. 2022 Covid-19 mouthpiece Michael Caputo was aggressively pursuing a herd immunity strategy, Floridians could watch DeSantis quietly try to move the goalposts. Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 10 Aug. 2021 And with prices leaping sky-high as demand recovers and supply lines falter, and up to 40% of workers contemplating quitting their jobs if they aren’t allowed to maintain some form of work-from-home arrangement, the Fed’s prerequisite conditions might have to move the goalposts. Q.ai - Investing Reimagined, Forbes, 15 June 2021 Better, best Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars.com, a car listing and data site, said the latest F-150 numbers move the goalposts. Phoebe Wall Howard, Detroit Free Press, 29 Sep. 2020

Dictionary Entries Near move/shift the goalposts

Cite this Entry

“Move/shift the goalposts.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/move%2Fshift%20the%20goalposts. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

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