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(ordered by seriousness) ESL Vocabulary Lists Parts of Speech Lists A-Z Idioms and Proverbs Tests and Games Top Tip Install a grammar checker
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Close but no Cigar (Origin)
What Is the Origin of the Saying "Close but no Cigar"?
The term "close but no cigar" means to almost accomplish a goal then fall short.
"Close, but no cigar" has only come into common use since the 1970s (evidence). From a grammatical perspective, it is a sentence fragment as it lacks both a subject and a verb.
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