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near miss

noun

a strike by a missile that is not a direct hit but is close enough to damage the target.

an instance of two vehicles, aircraft, etc., narrowly avoiding a collision.

something that falls narrowly short of its object or of success: an interesting movie, but a near miss.

Also, near-miss.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Near miss is always a great word to know.

So is quincunx. Does it mean:

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

near miss

—n
1.	a bomb, shell, etc, that does not exactly hit the target
2.	any attempt or shot that just fails to be successful
3.	an incident in which two vehicles narrowly avoid collision

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

near miss

A narrowly avoided mishap; also, an attempt that falls just short of success. For example, It was a near miss for that truck, since the driver had crossed the center strip into on-coming traffic, or Her horse kept having a near miss in every race, so she decided to sell it. This expression originated during World War II, when it signified a bomb exploding in the water near enough to a ship to damage its hull. Soon afterward it acquired its present meanings.

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"Loonely in me loneness. For all their faults. I am passing out. O bitter ending! I'll slip away before they're up. They'll never see. Nor know. Nor miss me. And it's old and old and it's sad and old it's sad and weary I go back to you, my cold father, my cold mad father, my cold mad feary father, till the near sight of the mere size of him, the moyles and moyles of it, moananonaning, makes me seasilt saltsick, and I rush, my only, into your arms."

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