| spitting distance | |
| —n | |
| a short space or distance | |
spitting distance
A very short distance, as in We were in spitting distance of winning the pennant but then we lost three games in a row. Alluding to the relatively short distance over which one's spit will carry, this idiom was first recorded in 1895 as within spitting range.
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |