Close, But No Cigar

Carnival Games 

Back in the day, cigars were common prizes at fairground booths—not plush toys. These games were notoriously difficult, often rigged or designed to be nearly impossible to win. 

The Barker’s Call

When someone came tantalizingly close to winning but didn’t quite make it, the carnival barker would shout,

“Close, but no cigar!”

—a cheeky way to say “you almost had it, but not quite.”

Cultural Spread

The phrase gained traction and was widely used in newspapers by the 1930s. One of the earliest printed uses was in the

Long Island Daily Press

• in 1929, and it appeared in the 1935 film script for

Annie Oakley

Meaning Today

It’s now a playful idiom used to describe a near success—when someone almost achieves something but falls just short.