close but no cigar, (it was)
close, but no cigar
cliché A phrase said when one is almost correct or successful but ultimately fails. Cigars were once commonly used as prizes or awards. A: "Is the answer 73?" B: "Ooh, close, but no cigar. It's 75, actually." The team captain shoots the puck at the wide-open net, but it bounces off the post! Close, but no cigar!
See also: but, cigar, no
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
close but no cigar, (it was)
Nearly successful, but not quite. This slangy Americanism dates from the first half of the twentieth century. It most likely came from the practice of giving a cigar as a prize to the winner of a contest, such as hitting the target in a carnival shooting gallery.
See also: but, close, no
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- customer is always right
- customer is always right, the
- the customer is always right
- (good) black don't crack
- (it's) (all) Greek to me
- be all Greek to someone
- Greek to me
- Greek to me, it's
- it's all Greek to me
- Greek to