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What does close count in?

What does close count in?

Close only counts in horseshoes and with hand grenades!

Does Close actually count in horseshoes?

Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.” The quote appeared in Time magazine (July 31, 1973).

What does close only counts in horseshoes?

Proverb. close only counts in horseshoes. Coming close to achieving a goal is not good enough.

Why do they say close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades?

The literal meaning of the saying is derived from the fact that you win points in horseshoes by landing your horseshoe within a horseshoe’s breadth of the stake, even if it doesn’t ring the stake or touch the stake. Hence, “close” counts in horseshoes.

What is the saying Close only counts?

Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. As long as your grenade hits reasonably close to the target, you’ve achieved the goal. So this idiom means that “getting close” doesn’t count.

Where do you stand when throwing horseshoes?

The points where each stake intersects the ground are separated by forty feet. The area within the pitching box but outside the pit forms two strips on the right and left and it is these that the players must stand within when throwing their horseshoes.

What is the saying almost doesn’t count?

Near success (or near accuracy) is not adequate. Synonyms: a miss is as good as a mile; close, but no cigar; close only counts in horseshoes.

Where does close but no cigar?

The phrase is originated in the United States, likely during the 20th century or earlier. It alludes to the practice of stalls at fairgrounds and carnivals giving out cigars as prizes. This phrase would be used for those who were close to winning a prize, but failed to do so.

Do you have to win by 2 points in horseshoes?

Back-yard games can be played to any number of points that is agreed upon, but are usually to 21 points, win by 2. In most sanctioned tournaments the handicapped divisions pitch 50 shoe games, most points win. If there is a tie, the pitchers pitch two additional innings (alternating pitch) until the tie is broken.

Who said Handshoes and grenades?

Frank Robinson
Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.” Frank Robinson is quoted as coining that phrase during an interview with Time Magazine in July 1973, which is to say you wouldn’t expect him to put too much stock in the Orioles’ 12-7 start to this season.

What does that doesn’t count mean?

that doesn’t count: that doesn’t qualify, isn’t valid, isn’t considered as part of a calculation or assessment.

Where does the saying ” close doesn’t count ” come from?

The proverb, with its various accretions, probably originated as an anti-proverb based on “Close doesn’t count.” The literal meaning of the saying is derived from the fact that you win points in horseshoes by landing your horseshoe within a horseshoe’s breadth of the stake, even if it doesn’t ring the stake or touch the stake.

Is there a game in which’close’counts?

Yes, there is a game in which ‘close’ counts. It is horseshoes. Bisbee Daily Review (Bisbee, Arizona), 16 Apr 1916 (paywalled). The third appearance I found is in The Union Postal Clerk of March, 1917, and this time quoits feature instead of horseshoes: Day Rosemer — getting close counts in quoits only.

What does the phrase’close only counts in horseshoes’mean?

When throwing a hand grenade, you don’t have to hit directly on the bullseye of your target to achieve the objective of damage or destruction. As long as your grenade hits reasonably close to the target, you’ve achieved the goal. So this idiom means that “getting close” doesn’t count.

What’s the difference between close only counts and quoits?

The association of the phrase “close only counts” (variants) with quoits was suggestive, given the much longer history of quoits than horseshoes, but searches of the UK and US popular press, and Google Books, did not disgorge any attestations featuring quoits earlier than the 1914 and 1916 appearances featuring horseshoes. Highly active question.