What is the difference between a near miss and a direct hit.

It’s confusing wording, to be sure. The way the phrase is used, a near miss is “a miss that is nearly a hit, but that’s too much of a mouthful, so the phrase was shortened. So you’re not wrong. It would be more technically correct to call it a “near hit”, instead.

In addition to the information regarding a near miss above, it’s also important to realize that a direct hit indicates a hit at the center of a given target.

@CWOTUS…Finally someone gets it…Thank you.

@JoyousLove…True, Thanks for your answer.

Seems to me that “near miss” makes sense if you contrast it to “missed by a mile” or “missed wide”.

It was a miss, but it was near to being a hit.

Or, it was nearly a hit. Any nearer and it would have been a hit.

Though a direct hit is not the next thing to a near miss. There are also such things as “a glancing blow” or “barely a hit” or “grazing the target”.

About 2mm.

A near miss is a miss, but it was near.

Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. (And atom bombs).

@Zaku…Thanks for your reply.

A direct hit is Luke Skywalker blowing up the Death Star. A near miss is a bunch of Imperial Stormtroopers shooting at a standing target that’s 10 feet away.

@Darth_Algar…Good one.. lol…Thanks for your answer :)