Close, But No Cigar

You had one job. — Said when the one thing that was required did not happen.

Close, but no cigar. — Nearly right is still not right.

Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. — In most things, a near miss earns nothing.

Nice try. — Often ironic. The effort is noted, and the result is still missing.

What have you done for me lately? — Past results do not count for long. The phrase is also the title of Janet Jackson’s 1986 single, which reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100.

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