Close but no Cigar

To be very near and almost accomplish a goal, but fall short.



The phrase, and its variant 'nice try, but no cigar', are of US origin and date from the mid-20th century. Fairground stalls gave out cigars as prizes, and this is the most likely source, although there's no definitive evidence to prove that.



Ex: After someone is almost successful: oh! Close but no cigar!



Spanish: Por el canto de un duro



German: Knapp vorbei ist auch daneben