Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

move the yardsticks

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.85 in modern English

Syllables
move the -yard-sticks
IPA
35
Scrabble Score
17
Letters
3
Syllables
14
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To move the chains.

verb

To make progress, as used in political and corporate venues to express proactive actions.

Etymology

The phrase originates from American football, where every ten yards of forward progress by the offense moves the yardsticks ahead to measure the next ten yards of progress.

Inflected Forms

moves the yardsticks (present, singular) moving the yardsticks (participle, present) moved the yardsticks (participle, past) moved the yardsticks (past)

Phrases

move the goalposts

Frequently Paired Words

move the goalposts

Questions

What does move the yardsticks mean?
To move the chains.
Where does move the yardsticks come from?
The phrase originates from American football, where every ten yards of forward progress by the offense moves the yardsticks ahead to measure the next ten yards of progress.

How to pronounce move the yardsticks

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “move the yardsticks”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “move the yardsticks”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “move the yardsticks” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.