Common Idioms for IELTS Topic Close but No Cigar

Idioms and phrases for IELTS are practiced very often by native speakers very unknowingly to express themselves. Common idioms for IELTS speaking add color to your conversation and help you to read between the lines. Reading more IELTS idioms and phrasal verbs will help you build your vocabulary and help to improve your lexical resources. Candidates must learn to master idiomatic vocabulary as it will considerably improve your academic written English and hence it will increase your IELTS band score.

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The IELTS speaking section can be well prepared with the help of different kinds of idioms. The idioms in this article consist of exercises that will help the candidates to understand the correct usage of these idioms.

Common Idioms for IELTS Topic Close but No Cigar

Meaning: Very close to success but then received failure

Sentence: He was always been a hardworking employee, but close but no cigar one.

Origin: This idiom was initially originated in the United States around mid 20th century. It refers to the tradition of stalls at fairgrounds and festivals giving out cigars as prizes.

The earliest printed record of the phrase that we can find is in the Long Island Daily Press on May 18, 1929, with the idiom appearing as the headline of the article titled “Close; But No Cigar”, about a man named Hugo Straub who ended second in two presidential races he was running that finished in the same week.

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A few More Similar Idioms for IELTS Speaking

• Top Banana

Meaning: A leader; a person holding the master position

Sentence: Sourabh Ganguly has been always the top banana in the Indian Cricket team.

Origin: This idiom was initially used around the 1920s. The comedians in America tried to make people laugh using a banana peel gag.

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• Drop the Ball

Meaning: Committing a blunder

Sentence: Rajat has dropped the ball in the mid-drama on the stage.

Origin: This idiom was initially used in American football, wherein one has to catch a ball for a pass to be successfully completed. After that, it was more general kinds of mistakes dating from about 1950.

• Wet Blanket

Meaning: A individual/ someone who ruins other people’s fun by disliking what they’re doing, or refusing to join in.

Sentence: Rajat has put a wet blanket in the mid-drama on the stage.

Origin: This phrase was used back around the 1870s. It was based on the fact that cooks of that era kept a wet blanket in the kitchen to smother fires quickly.