There has been much talk in Japan recently about the imminent danger posed by an “overshoot,” a word used with no Japanese translation, little context and an apparent disregard for the English language, baffling English and Japanese speakers alike.
Of the many Japanese politicians, experts and journalists who have adopted the word as part of their virus lexicon, few seem to have taken a moment to ponder what it actually means or where it comes from.
In normal contexts, to overshoot means to shoot or pass over or beyond a target, like when an aircraft flies beyond a runway while trying to land.