Polyhymnia · Daily Eloquencemove the goalposts
To change the criteria for success after the fact, so the other side can't win.
The power is the picture: not a vague gripe about unfairness but the exact image of someone hauling the goal to a new spot the instant you line up to score.
It lets you charge bad faith while sounding like you're only describing the field — the metaphor does the accusing, so you never have to.
A goal line is meant to be fixed and unarguable, and borrowing that certainty is what makes the foul land.
“Every time I hit the number they set, they want a new one — they keep moving the goalposts.”
Venting to a coworker about a manager who won't sign off on the raise that was promised.
“We agreed on the terms last week; tacking on three more conditions now is just moving the goalposts.”
Pushing back in a contract negotiation that keeps quietly expanding.
It's an accusation of bad faith, so save it for genuine standard-shifting — aiming it at a reasonable change of mind makes you sound like you're dodging real feedback. In writing it can read as defensive if you reach for it the moment anyone asks for more.
“Moving the goalposts”: catch someone changing the rules mid-game without ever calling them a cheat.
▸More — where it lives, variations, references
An op-ed and debate-stage staple — the go-to charge when someone keeps raising the bar the moment you clear it.
Stress lands on GOAL-posts; the verb 'move' stays light, so the image — the posts sliding away — carries the line.
- · shift the goalposts
- · the goalposts keep moving