Question

Can't Hit the Side of a Barn to have terrible aim; to not be able to throw well enough to hit even a large target

Accepted Answer

Don't worry about being the target in the booth at the school carnival. These kids can't hit the side of a barn. The side of a barn is a large area, and if you can't hit something as big as that, your pitching arm must be terrible. This idiom became popular t in the United States in the early 1900s. It described baseball pitchers who couldn't throw the ball into the strike zone. Variations on this expression are "can't hit the broad side of a barn" and "can't hit a barn door."

Idiom	Can't Hit the Side of a Barn
Example	Don't worry about being the target in the booth at the school carnival. These kids can't hit the side of a barn.
Meaning	to have terrible aim; to not be able to throw well enough to hit even a large target
Origin	The side of a barn is a large area, and if you can't hit something as big as that, your pitching arm must be terrible. This idiom became popular t in the United States in the early 1900s. It described baseball pitchers who couldn't throw the ball into the strike zone. Variations on this expression are "can't hit the broad side of a barn" and "can't hit a barn door."

Hit Side Barn Target Throw Large Worry Booth