goalpost vs progress

goalpost

noun
  • A rule or target that is "moved" (changed) unfairly; see move the goalposts. 

  • One of the two vertical side poles of a goal. 

  • The tall Y-shaped upright, now usually of fiberglass, at either end of the playing field, through which a football must go in order for a field goal to be scored. (They were originally H-shaped, with one wooden post on either side.) 

progress

noun
  • Movement onwards or forwards or towards a specific objective or direction; advance. 

  • Specifically, advancement to a higher or more developed state; development, growth. 

  • An official journey made by a monarch or other high personage; a state journey, a circuit. 

  • Movement or advancement through a series of events, or points in time; development through time. 

  • Science has made extraordinary progress in the last fifty years. 

verb
  • To develop. 

  • To expedite. 

  • To move, go, or proceed forward; to advance. 

  • To improve; to become better or more complete. 

How often have the words goalpost and progress occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )