Move the goalposts

How it is used

Informal and usually critical. Use it for shifting acceptance criteria, not simply any agreed change to a project's scope.

Example sentences

1. The client cannot move the goalposts after we have completed every item in the agreed checklist.

   The complaint is that completed work is being judged against newly introduced requirements.

2. If we move the goalposts each month, staff will not know what performance earns a bonus.

   Repeated changes make the reward criteria unpredictable for the people trying to meet them.

Common collocations

• keep moving the goalposts
• accuse someone of moving the goalposts

Related terms

• termsThe conditions of an agreement or contract that both sides accept, such as the price, payment dates, delivery and responsibilities.
• deliverableA specific result, document or product that a team has agreed to produce and hand over by a certain date.

More terms: Negotiations

• negotiate
• deal
• proposal
• compromise
• bottom line
• win-win
• counteroffer
• concession
• deal-breaker
• meet halfway
• on the table
• client