be caught in the/(one's) crosshairs

"Crosshairs" are the fine lines or wires that cross in the focus of an optical instrument as a visual aid. The term is often hyphenated or spelled as two words.

1. To be a visible target in one's gunsights. There's an enemy sniper on the roof. Make sure you aren't caught in his cross hairs. In these parts, an animal that's caught in the crosshairs is as good as dead. As soon as he realized he was caught in the thug's crosshairs, it was already too late.

2. To be the target of or in a position vulnerable to one's criticism or attack. The CEO has been caught in the crosshairs of numerous politicians and pundits for his recent comments on immigration. The boss is really angry about what happened, so just keep your head down during the meeting. You don't want to be caught in his crosshairs. I have no idea what they were arguing about, I just walked in at an inopportune time and was caught in the crosshairs.