[Ads-l] "Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades."

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Nice work JL, Fred, Charlie, and Wolfgang. Here is an incremental
antedating of the short version of the proverb.

Date: September 10, 1910
Newspaper: Marion News-Tribune
Newspaper Location: Marion, Indiana
Article: Society: Doings of the Day in Social Circles
  Subtitle: Beta Chicken Fry
Quote Page 5, Column 1
Database: Newspapers.com
https://www.newspapers.com/article/marion-news-tribune-horseshoes/184073122/

[Begin excerpt]
In honor. of members of the fraternity who are leaving for college in
the next few weeks the Beta Phi Sigmas enjoyed a "Beta Chicken Fry"
last evening at the fraternity home on Sixth and Adams street.
...
The specialties were Mr.Houston's tales of "Why We Are Here;" A. E.
Gibson, who explained that "Close Only Counts in Horseshoes;" ...
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Fri, Oct 31, 2025 at 3:56 PM Shapiro, Fred
<00001ac016895344-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
>
> Excellent work by John.  The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs, ed. Charles Clay Doyle, Wolfgang Mieder & Fred R. Shapiro, but mostly the brilliant work of Doyle, pushes half of this great proverb back a long ways:
>
> 1914 Lincoln (Nebraska) Daily News 15 Aug.: "Close does not [sic] count only in horseshoes."
>
> 1921 Decatur (Illinois) Daily Review 3 Oct.: "Close counts in horseshoes only."
>
> 1932 Washington Post 8 Jul. "Close doesn't count except in horseshoe pitching."
>
> But the "hand grenades" component is what makes the proverb so compelling.
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
> ________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Jonathan Lighter <00001aad181a2549-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Sent: Friday, October 31, 2025 3:31 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Subject: Re: "Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades."
>
> Earlier:
>
> 1964 _Columbus [O.] Dispatch_ (Dec. 31)  10A [GenealogyBank]: Close only
> counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.
>
> 1965 _Elwood [Ind.] Call-Leader_ (Dec. 4) 6 [Newspapers.com]: But like they
> say - close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.
>
> JL
>
> On Tue, Apr 26, 2016 at 10:23 AM W Brewer <brewerwa at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > << Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. >>
> > As I recall, my first recollection of the expression was on an Army rifle
> > range, c. 1968, where the goal was the winning of marksmanship badges. I
> > daresay that must have been the originating context.
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
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