easy target
34
3.5
- noun
- /ˈiːzi ˈtɑːrɡɪt/
:
blanco fácil
- Picking on Shatner is expected because he's an easy target; he's a big celebrity.
- make an easy target
So they they are really easy targets for sure.
- So they they are really easy targets for sure.
- And same thing in in society, the people will bully the easy target.
Examples
-
Look, man, you know you're an easy target.
-
But apparently, because they think she's an easy target, they have a problem with me.
Blog text (11) -
But I was an American woman, living alone, and therefore an easy target.
Fiction book (1990) -
And hobos are an easy target, I guess.
-
When the planes inevitably dive on the village, the women are easy targets.
Academic text (2016) -
Public war memorials were easy targets for destruction as soon as the Soviet Army withdrew.
Academic text (2000) -
Music programs (especially non-performance-based classes) continue to remain easy targets for budget cuts.
Academic text (2009) -
Bob Wallace is an easy target because he doesn't have the funds to hire a lawyer and go to court and challenge this kind of unconstitutional behavior.
-
Georgia Teachers College became an easy target for the race-baiting Governor Eugene Talmadge and his local followers.
Academic text (2007) -
The untrained men ran straight into the hole and became an easy target for the Confederate Army.
Synonyms
649
3.5
A person chosen for attack or criticism
39
5.2
An easy target for people to criticize or attack
33
6.8
Something that others can harm or take advantage of
9
7.1
A person others can easily trick or cheat
Antonyms
How Vulnerable
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'easy' (vulnerable or readily taken advantage of) with 'target' (someone singled out for attack or criticism), so a learner who knows both words can infer a person likely to be attacked or blamed. This adj+noun compositional pattern is common in English and across languages, making the expression predictable to a B1 learner without prior exposure.
Etymology
Easy target comes from the picture of a target that is easy to hit, like a person standing alone with no protection. So we call anyone or anything that is 'vulnerable' or likely to be 'attacked' or 'criticized' an easy target.