Close, but no cigar

A near success that still falls short of the goal. Current informal expression Regional use: United States, later international.

The expression reflects cigars being offered as prizes at fairs, carnivals, and shooting galleries in the early 20th century. That prize practice is documented before the idiom, but the complete phrase is not securely found until a 1927 Yale newspaper headline and 1928-1929 campus and New York examples. It therefore should not be assigned to one particular carnival barker or game.