hit a cow's arse with a banjo
- idiom
- Offensive
- After missing every shot, it was clear she couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo.
Examples
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He couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo if he tried!
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Frank's darts are so bad he couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo.
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When it comes to painting straight lines, he really can't hit a cow's arse with a banjo.
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Did you see how he played? He really hit a cow's arse with a banjo!
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Her aim was so poor that she couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo during the game.
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When he tried to play darts, it was obvious he couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo.
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Despite his practice, he still couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo at the shooting range.
Synonyms
To behave in a rude, stupid way
To strike a ball badly so it goes wrong
To be unable to manage even a very simple task because you are very bad at doing things
Not able to do simple tasks, often confused and disorganized
A rude way to say someone is very bad at simple tasks and easily confused
Act in a foolish or careless way
Antonyms
How Accurate
Surface Forms
Morphology
hit + a + cow's + arse + with + a + banjo
The literal words ('hit', 'cow's arse', 'with a banjo') clearly describe striking a large target with an awkward instrument, so a learner can infer the general idea of failing to hit a target and thus being very inaccurate. However, the phrase is a colorful, culture-specific humorous idiom with profane register and an exaggerated metaphoric force, so the precise sense ('extremely incompetent/poor aim') is not fully predictable without exposure.
Etymology
Hit a cow's arse with a banjo may come from the silly picture of trying to hit a cow's small, moving back end with a big, awkward banjo, which would be almost impossible. So, the phrase now means 'to be very bad at aiming' or 'to lack skill'.