coffin corner

Noun

coffin corner (plural coffin corners)

1. (World War II) The position in a formation of ships or bombers that is most exposed to enemy fire.
   • We'd though that because of the TNT we might be somewhere in the middle. But we got the rear corner on the starboard side. They call that the coffin corner.1943, William Harrison Fetridge, The navy reader, page 207
   • Suddenly we spotted her coming directly for the Spencer, since the Spencer was the last ship in the column next to the sun ('coffin corner,' it is called.)1945, National 4-H Club News - Volumes 23-24, page 16
2. A situation in which the aircraft cannot increase or decrease its airspeed without stalling or buffeting.
   • Here, in fact, is the so-called “coffin corner,” with the pilot juggling the throttle betwixt buffeting and highspeed stalling.1909, Flight International - Volume 64, page 700
   • The U-2 had to fly in the “coffin corner” of its flight envelope, one knot from stalling, one knot from overstressing the airframe, and one SA-2 from an international incident.2004, Laurence R. Newcome, Unmanned Aviation: A Brief History of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
3. A corner of the field formed by the opponent's goal line and a sideline, into which a punt is often aimed in order to force the opposition to play close to their goal line.
   • During that second half, Carideo, one of Notre Dame's greatest punters, repeatedly kept SMU bottled up deep in its own territory on “coffin-corner” punts which invariably went out of bounds inside the Mustangs' 10-yard line.2010, Jack Cavanaugh, The Gipper: George Gipp, Knute Rockne, and the Dramatic Rise of Notre Dame Football
   • Kick it hard, kick it deep, and aim for the coffin corner when close enough to the opponents' end zone.2014 November 7, “Rugby-style kicking helps Chiefs' Colquitt take punting to another level”, in Kansas City Star
4. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see coffin, corner.
   • Last of all she paints the little dog with his leg cocked over the coffin corner.2011, Sita Brahmachari, Artichoke Hearts