The Whole Seven Yards:Sayings from Gun History:

Reading - as I do - lots of stuff (both fact & fiction) about guns through the ages - I am pleased to observe that while there are many millions of law abiding, well intended, decent and even heroic gun users stretching back down time .. there are also a relatively small number of greedy, selfish, misguided or insane, murderous individuals who - like modern-day sociopathic scum rise to the upper layers of our societies and have to be dealt with.

Overall - large numbers of weapons have always been issued to official government forces for use in law enforcement and 'peace-keeping' military engagements. - So there is no surprise that clichéd phrases from the shooting world have become common usage in the English language:

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- Anyone shooting for gold needs to keep their eye in because a miss is as good as a mile when you need meat in the pot.

- To stay on target  - when you're on the firing line - you'll need to keep your powder dry in case you have a misfire and lose the whole lock stock and barrel.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush - but modern antibiotics can be a silver bullet and are no flash in the pan.

- Your mate can be a bit of a loose cannon and a bit quick on the draw. - So you may have to bite the bullet if you don't want to fall short and miss the mark .. but give it the full seven yards and you'll have a fair shot at success.

Don't pull the pin too early in case there was a hang-fire - or you'll risk going off half-cocked.

- Still you might spike his guns or put a shot across his bows - but don't make it a shot in the dark.

Finally don't set your sights too high and you should end up in the black without giving anyone the ammunition to use against you and become a hot-shot.

All seemingly good advise eh .. but I reckon that there is so much of this "gun talk" around that when combined with all the fantasy blood and mayhem movies - the average well meaning city inmate feels familiar with much violence - and thinks that they expertly know how to put an end to it by banning the guns. - They overlook that criminals are already law breakers anyway if they have a firearm.

Marty K.

P.S. - Here's another that I've just (22Nov.) noticed:  'tight wad' .. that's someone or a thing that's hard to get anything out of!