Was there a real cigar from 'close, but no cigar'? | | Don't let the mention of cigars fool you — this is more than just a puff piece. Let's take a look at the origins of this phrase, which can be traced back to early 20th-century carnivals. | |  | Bennett Kleinman |
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| |  | | T he phrase "close, but no cigar" means "that a guess was almost correct or that an effort was almost sufficient." You can use it to describe a hockey shot that just misses the net, a recipe that's nearly perfect but needs more salt, or a 99/100 score on a big exam. Rarely is this saying used in the context of actual cigars, though that wasn't always true. In fact, the phrase was quite literal when it was coined by early carnival barkers.
When you're playing the midway games at a carnival today, the prizes are typically massive stuffed animals and plastic tchotchkes. But as traveling carnivals rose to prominence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many games of chance were targeted at adults rather than children. Carnival barkers lured them in by offering up prizes such as whiskey bottles and cigars. |
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Emoji Decoded | |  | | Thought Balloon | | | Meaning: Displays a comic-style thought bubble, indicating thinking, dreaming, or wondering.
Evolution: Distinguished from the Speech Bubble 💬, this emoji maintains the classic cloudlike shape of thought bubbles from comics and cartoons.
Usage: [Status update:] 💭 wondering what to have for lunch |
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| | Thought Balloon | | | Meaning: Displays a comic-style thought bubble, indicating thinking, dreaming, or wondering.
Evolution: Distinguished from the Speech Bubble 💬, this emoji maintains the classic cloudlike shape of thought bubbles from comics and cartoons.
Usage: [Status update:] 💭 wondering what to have for lunch |
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Have you read? | |  | | The Compound | | | | If you're missing your daily dose of "Love Island," this novel about a fictional reality show is for you. The setting of the luxury compound is hauntingly strange, and yet, Lily has no desire to leave. She gamely participates in everything forced upon the show's contestants by the producers, even as the challenges get more and more dangerous. Living inside reality television is even stranger than it looks from the outside. | | | | Julia Rittenberg, Word Smarts Writer | | | | We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. |
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| | The Compound | | | | If you're missing your daily dose of "Love Island," this novel about a fictional reality show is for you. The setting of the luxury compound is hauntingly strange, and yet, Lily has no desire to leave. She gamely participates in everything forced upon the show's contestants by the producers, even as the challenges get more and more dangerous. Living inside reality television is even stranger than it looks from the outside. | | | | Julia Rittenberg, Word Smarts Writer | | | | We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. |
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You might also like | |  | | | | Is It 'Beck and Call' or 'Beckon Call'? | | If you're wondering whether it's "beck and call" or "beckon call," you can always call the musician Beck and ask his opinion. Or just keep reading, because the answer is right here. |
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