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"a cigar" used figuratively



 
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ESL Forum | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
"used in" vs "used for" vs "used to" | Rewrite sentences
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"a cigar" used figuratively #1 (permalink) Wed Mar 02, 2011 19:48 pm   "a cigar" used figuratively
 

-Bacary Sagna gets on the end of a ball down the right and his cross is met first-time by Tomas Rosicky, who sees his shot flash just wide of the post. Close, but no cigar.
- What do you think the commentator meant by his last reply?
Thanks in advance.
Eugene2114
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"a cigar" used figuratively #2 (permalink) Wed Mar 02, 2011 19:55 pm   "a cigar" used figuratively
 

"Close but no cigar" is a set expression.
It means that something was going very well in the beginning, but failed at the end by the narrowest of margins.

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Close,+but+no+cigar
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"a cigar" used figuratively #3 (permalink) Wed Mar 02, 2011 20:26 pm   "a cigar" used figuratively
 

It looks like the player missed his shot. He did not manage to score (by sending the ball into the goal), but the commentator thinks that he was very close to succeeding. That is why he made use of that idiom. :-)
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"a cigar" used figuratively #4 (permalink) Thu Mar 03, 2011 8:23 am   "a cigar" used figuratively
 

Thank you both OTS and Christina for the explanation.
Best regards.
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"used in" vs "used for" vs "used to" | Rewrite sentences
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