Reader’s question:The bite itself is often painless -- then skin reddens, turns white, develops a red "bull's-eye," blisters, and becomes painful. Bites warrant immediate medical care.

Could you explain “bull’s eye”?

My comments:

A non-question, really, but a good one.

Here the “bull’s eye” means nothing other than the center of the bite, which the author chooses to describe as a “bull’s eye” because it looks like one, you know, the eye of an angry bull, blood-shot and red.

Nothing, that is, to do with the usual use of “bull’s eye” to signify the center of a target, as in Olympic archery. Figuratively speaking, if you hit the bull’s eye with your observation or argument, it means your remarks are to the point, or, in another cliché, right on cue.

Can’t say that about this particular question you’ve raised, but that is neither here nor there.

As long as you don’t get an answer that misses, by a country mile, the bull’s eye.

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Go to Zhang Xin's column

本文僅代表作者本人觀點，與本網立場無關。歡迎大家討論學術問題，尊重他人，禁止人身攻擊和發布一切違反國家現行法律法規的內容。

Zhang Xin has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.