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Reader question: Please explain “cross hairs” and this headline: World’s top banks in U.S. govt cross-hairs over dealings with 1MDB (Reuters, April 1, 2016). My comments: Put another way, the US government is looking into the dealings of some of the world’s top banks with 1MDB, the Malaysian state-owned fund. 1MDB, or Malaysian Development Berhad (Malay word meaning “private”, same as a limited liability company or LTD), has been in trouble for some time over allegations of corruption and money laundering. Now some of its business partners are hauled in before the US Department of Justice to answer questions. Deutsche Bank AG and JPMorgan Chase & Co, by the way, are the “world’s top banks” mentioned in the headline. All right? Oh, cross hairs. That’s the hair-like thin cross lines used for aiming a rifle or other firearm at a target. Literally, if you see the target positioned in the middle of the cross hairs of the aim, you may pull the trigger and you cannot miss. I mean, most of the time, of course, weather permitting and everything. Anyways, cross hairs are used for precision targeting, originally a term for a telescope. If you locate something in the cross hairs, well, you have it locked up, so to speak. So, in short, if you find yourself in the cross hairs of someone or organization, you know you’re being targeted by them, usually for criticism for some wrong doing, or are simply under scrutiny – as is the case with the telescope. | 
