“Close, But No Cigar”

While we’re on the subject of tobacco, let’s talk about the once popular saying, “Close, But No Cigar.” I’ve heard many people use this expression over the years, but what does it mean, and where did it come from? 

The meaning is obvious. When something is attempted but not achieved, the goal was almost met, but you were not close enough. An example might be in the game of horseshoes, the horseshoe lands very close, but after measuring, it’s determined that it’s not close enough to qualify for points.

Several years ago, in carnivals and county fairs across the nation, there was a popular game that allowed men to show off their strength. For five cents a man was given a large wooden mallet and allowed to strike a platform. The platform was designed like a teeter totter with a metal weight on the other side. The strike would cause a metal weight to zoom up a vertical slide. The height attained by the effect of the impact would supposedly measure the strength of the game player.

 A bell at the top of the vertical slide would ring if the weight made it to the top. If the bell rang, the player would win a cigar. To keep their dignity intact, men would often pay nickel after nickel in order to make that bell ring. The carnival worker, to draw attention to the game, and to encourage the player to try again would yell “Close, But No Cigar.”