swing and a miss

Definitions

A sincere but unsuccessful attempt.

idiomatic, uncountable, usually

Equivalents

Examples

“A letter arrived from then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Vatican's enforcer of the faith, instructing him to behave as a Roman Catholic politician and vote⟳ No. . . . And, of course, Mr. Koopmans voted Yes on the legislation. . . . A swing⟳ and a miss⟳ for Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI.”

“Beef carpaccio with walnuts, lemon and pecorino is a swing⟳ and a miss⟳: almost flavorless.”

“In her defense, she's not ever been at this level of national politics before but Tuesday night's speech felt like⟳ a swing⟳ and a miss⟳ for Ayotte.”

CEFR level