wide of the mark
Missing the point
Wide of the mark means inaccurate or missing the target—originally from archery and shooting, where a shot landing far from the bullseye is wide of the mark.
Now usually figurative: His estimate of the costs was wide of the mark.
A guess or prediction that proves badly wrong is wide of the mark.
The phrase emphasizes degree of error, not just being wrong but being substantially off.
Fail to reach
- astrayOff the right path
- awryCrooked or wrong
- amissWrong or faulty
- off-courseDeviating from intended path
off-track · misdirected · stray · errant · wayward · deviant · misaimed · miscalculated
Not accurate or true
- wrongContrary to fact
- mistakenIncorrectly understood or believed
- erroneousContaining factual mistakes
- falseNot matching reality
untrue · imprecise · inexact · faulty · flawed · invalid · unsound · unfounded
Poorly thought through
- misinformedGiven incorrect facts
- misledCaused to believe falsely
- deludedWrongly convinced of falsehoods
- mistakenIncorrectly understood or believed
ill-advised · imprudent · naive · misjudged · misdirected · foolish · unwise · rash
miss
Fail to reach
off-course · off-track · misdirected · stray · errant · wayward · deviant · misaimed · miscalculated · misjudged
incorrect
Not accurate or true
false · untrue · imprecise · inexact · faulty · flawed · invalid · unsound · unfounded · misleading
misconceived
Poorly thought through
- misinformedGiven incorrect facts
- misledCaused to believe falsely
- deludedWrongly convinced of falsehoods
mistaken · ill-advised · imprudent · naive · misjudged · misdirected · foolish · unwise · rash · shortsighted
- off targetoff target, off-target, miss, misfire, astray
- oopsoops, whoops, whoopsie, oopsie, woopsie
wide of the markon the mark
on target · spot on · bullseye · dead on · right on the money
mark, wide, width, marker, widen, widespread, widened, marches, wider