What does ‘move the goalposts’ mean?
To “move the goalposts” means to unfairly change the criteria mid-process. A late 20th-century idiom from football; not in Brewer's 1898.
Origin
- A late 20th-century idiom from football; not in Brewer's 1898.
How to use it
- Common complaint in politics and business.
- Example: Every time we meet the target, they move the goalposts.
Source:
Last verified: 2026-07-18
- Definitions and origins are drawn from public-domain reference works, primarily Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898), with modern usage notes clearly marked.