4 ms·

Could someone please explain the "no cigar"?

• danielweber 12y ago
  It's an expression to say "close but no cigar" if you try something but don't get it. The "cigar" would be what you smoke after a victory.
• mikeash 12y ago
  Here you go: http://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/close,_but_no_cigar http://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/close,_but_no_cigar
• deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
• Uhhrrr 12y ago
  It's from a time when it was common to offer cigars as rewards for playing carnival games. If you missed the target or milk can or whatever, "close, but no cigar!".
  • goshx 12y ago
    thank you all!
  • returnofdjedi 12y ago
    I have watched A Few Good Men to guess what it means . I forgot what it meant though.
  • gcb0 12y ago
    like urban dictionary?
• murtza 12y ago
  I am working on a project to define phrases in English like "close, but no cigar". Here's the page for this phrase: http://jargonism.com/words/437 http://jargonism.com/words/437 I would be interested to hear feedback from HN on what would be useful on the word page, in addition to a definition and an example?
  • goshx 12y ago
    That's cool. If you could add this, I always like to know the origin of the phrase.
    • murtza 12y ago
      Thanks for the feedback! I'll start adding phrase origins to the site.
    • scott_karana 12y ago
      Allegedly, according to Wiktionary: > From the practice of giving cigars as prizes at carnivals in the US in the 19th century; this phrase would be said to those who failed to win a prize.
  • nemothekid 12y ago
    Why do I need to sign up and confirm a newsletter to view the site?
    • murtza 12y ago
      You are right. It is not a good user experience. I just took off the newsletter sign up.