close, but no cigar
idiom

- used to say that someone almost succeeded, but is not completely successful or correct

- used to say that a guess was almost correct or that an effort was almost sufficient

Cambridge Dictionary, Merriam-Webster

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PHRASE ORIGIN

The phrase "close, but no cigar" originates from the practice of giving out cigars as prizes at fairground games in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the United States. These games, such as those involving tossing rings or hitting targets, were often difficult to win, and cigars were commonly offered as a prize for successful attempts.

When someone came close to winning but ultimately fell short, the game operator would say, "Close, but no cigar”, indicating that the person was near victory but did not win the prize. The phrase was later adopted into everyday language to describe any situation where someone almost succeeds but ultimately falls just short.

The phrase gained popularity in the mid-20th century and has been used in various contexts to imply that while an attempt was made, it was not quite good enough to achieve the desired outcome.

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THE “NEAR MISS” EFFECT

The Thrill of Almost Winning

In the vibrant world of 19th-century circuses, a peculiar phenomenon took root. Amidst the dazzling acrobats and roaring lions, side stalls emerged, promising easy wins but delivering mostly empty pockets.

Robert Machray's 1902 account of London's East End paints a vivid picture of these alluring games. Toss a ring, roll a ball, and win a cigar - it seemed simple enough. Yet, as many discovered, the simplicity was a clever illusion.

The secret lay in what modern psychologists call the "near miss effect”. Those tantalizingly close victories - scoring nine when you needed ten, or landing a ring just shy of its target - weren't mere chance. They were carefully engineered to keep players hooked, believing that victory was just one more penny away.

This psychological trick tapped into a fundamental human trait: optimism in the face of near-success. Brain scans reveal that a near miss activates the same reward systems as an actual win. The faster the game, the stronger the effect. Quick resets between attempts left no time for rational thought, only the burning desire to try again. Each loss paradoxically strengthened the belief that a win was imminent.

Machray's description of exhausted patrons, drained of both pennies and patience, resonates across time. It's a cautionary tale of how easily we can be lured by the promise of easy rewards, only to find ourselves caught in a cycle of "almost, but not quite”.

In today's world of instant gratification and endless scrolling, the lessons of those circus side stalls remain painfully relevant. Whether it's social media dopamine hits or modern gambling apps, we're still susceptible to the siren song of "just one more try”.

So, the next time you find yourself caught in a loop of near-victories, it’s well to remember that sometimes, walking away is the true win. After all, in life as in the circus, you might get close - but you don't always get the cigar.

Paul Smith

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SYNONYMS

a day late and a dollar short, a miss is as good as a mile, all but, almost, almost but not quite, almost made it, almost there, at the finish line but missed the tape, a whisker away, barely missed it, brushing victory, by a hair, by a nose, by a whisker, by the skin of your teeth, came within a whisker, close, CLOSE, BUT NO CIGAR, close call, close second, close-run thing, coming close, fell short, fingertip away, fraction away, hairbreadth away, just missed, just off the mark, just shy, missed by a whisker, missed it by that much, near miss, near run thing, near thing, nearly, nearly made it, nearly there, not quite, on the brink, on the cusp, on the edge, on the verge, pretty near, second place, short of the mark, shouting distance, so close, so close yet so far, so near and yet so far, squeaker, striking distance, tantalisingly close, the door was closed just as you reached it, too little too late, within a hair, within a hair's breadth, within an ace, within arm’s reach, within inches

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

“I thought I'd mastered the art of parallel parking, but the fire hydrant begged to differ—CLOSE, BUT NO CIGAR!”

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