Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

crosshair

English answer:

explanation

Added to glossary by adonis
Aug 10, 2008 16:17
16 yrs ago
5 viewers *
English term

crosshair

Non-PRO English Other General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters music
I'm just a crosshair-that how alex kapranos sings in his song Take me out.What does he mean by that he's a crosshair
Change log

Aug 10, 2008 16:28: NancyLynn changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"

Responses

+2
12 mins
Selected

explanation

crosshair: one of the fine line wires or threds in the eyepiec of an optical instrument used as a reference line. (Webster Dictionary)

it is the cross you see when aiming a firearm...

(100% sure about what the word means!)

I found this additional information, regarding the song itself:
Franz Ferdinand took inspiration for their name from a racehorse called "The Archduke Ferdinand." After seeing the horse race on TV they began to discuss Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, whose assassination triggered World War 1. They decided it would be a good band name because of its sound and the implications of the Archduke's death.

This song is about a sniper. The lyrics begin "So if you're lonely, you know I'm here waiting for you. I'm just a crosshair, I'm just a shot away from you." http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=4387

From this interpretation, I understand that it means I am really close to you, in your sight - or you are in my sight...

(in another context you could say "I am a heartbeat away", here it is "I am a crosshair away")

I am really not sure if this interpretation is valid, it is just a suggestion from what I understand from these explanations...
Peer comment(s):

agree Will Matter
1 hr
Thanks Will... :)
agree Richard Benham : I think there is also a pun here: "take me out" can mean either "assassinate me" or "have a date with me". The former is suggested by the crosshairs, the latter be the reference to loneliness.
1 hr
true... there is a lot one can see when trying to understand a song/poem. Bottom line: all we can really be sure of is what the word means semantically, the connotations and analysis ends up being personal... Thanks and regards :)
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1 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
+5
6 mins

the crossing lines in the eyepiece of a firearm that are used to aim the weapon

Firearms

Telescopic sights for firearms, generally just called scopes, are probably the device most often associated with crosshairs. Motion pictures and the media often use a view through crosshairs as a dramatic device, which has given crosshairs wide cultural exposure.

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Note added at 14 mins (2008-08-10 16:32:12 GMT)
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More of the context:

So if you're lonely
You know I'm here waiting for you
I'm just a cross-hair
I'm just a shot away from you
And if you leave here
You leave me broken
shattered alive
I'm just a cross-hair
I'm just a shotten we can die
I know I won't be leaving here
With you

Here when he says: I'm just a shot away from you - its also referring to the theme of shooting a weapon
Peer comment(s):

agree José J. Martínez : I think you are right.
6 mins
thanks :)
agree Will Matter
1 hr
thanks :)
agree Egil Presttun
5 hrs
thanks :)
agree Phong Le
14 hrs
thanks :)
agree Gary D : my sight is fixed on you and all you have to do is pull the trigger(say you want me) and I will be there,
15 hrs
thanks :)
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