WHY DO WE SAY «NEAR MISS» WHEN THEY'RE REALLY A «NEAR HIT»: because there are many types of misses. you can miss something by a little («a near miss») or by a lot («a far miss»). if you DON'T want to be hitting something, a near miss is obviously more dangerous than a far one. in contrast, when dealing with bombs, a «near miss» of a target is better than a far miss because while you didn't hit the mark, it may have still been damaged by the explosion.