The first time I read the sentence I misread it, giggled like a school boy, and quickly replied to the post tongue-in-cheek.
However, HN did not appreciate the joke, and to be honest it was rather inane. I should try to remember that puerile humour belongs on Reddit and not HN.
Maybe @nmcfarl meant to say near-misses? or rather, just misses. But not as in ladies, but as in horseshoes.