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close but no cigar

SEE SYNONYMS FOR close but no cigar ON THESAURUS.COM

A narrowly missed success, as in That ball was definitely out—close but no cigar. This interjection alludes to awarding a cigar to the winner of some competition, such as hitting a target. [Slang; early 1900s]

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a person who is especially competent to pass critical judgments in an art, particularly one of the fine arts, or in matters of taste.
a frequent or habitual visitor to a place.
a lazy person who stays in bed long after the usual time for arising.
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Words related to close but no cigar

roughly, virtually, approximately, practically, most, about, closely, well-nigh, approaching, circa, much, round, roundly, some, somewhere