“Close, but no cigar” is a popular expression that has been the subject of several puns.

“I asked my grandmother for “something Cuban” for my birthday, and she got me a Che Guevara shirt. Clothes, but no cigar” was posted on Twitter by sickipediabot on March 28, 2011. The joke originated on the Sickipedia website.

“I went to my local tobacconist to discover that it has been replaced by a clothing store… Clothes, but no cigar” was posted on Reddit—Dadjokes on February 23, 2020. “I went to a smoke shop to discover that it has been replaced by an apparel store. Clothes, but no cigar” was posted on Twitter by “Doc is automated Take Care Of Each Other” on August 23, 2020.


Twitter
The_Jokebook
@The_Jokebook
I asked my grandmother for “something Cuban” for my birthday, and she got me a Che Guevara shirt.
Clothes, but no cigar.
1:33 PM · Mar 28, 2011·Twitter for iPhone

Twitter
sickipediabot
@sickipediabot
I asked my grandmother for “something Cuban” for my birthday, and she got me a Che Guevara shirt. Clothes, but no cigar.
1:40 PM · Mar 28, 2011·sickipediabot

Twitter
Geoff Whitman
@case71
Gonna open a fashion boutique in a closed-down smoke shop - “Clothes But No Cigar”.
#sorryboutthat
7:57 AM · Mar 8, 2013·Twitter for iPhone

Twitter
The Dad Joke Man
@DadJokeMan
I asked my wife for “something Cuban” for my birthday, and she got me a Che Guevara t-shirt.
Clothes, but no cigar.
2:38 AM · Nov 18, 2017·Twitter for iPhone

Reddit—Dadjokes
Posted by u/madazzahatter December 25, 2017
I asked my dad for “something Cuban” for Christmas and he got me a Che Guevara shirt…
Clothes, but no cigar…

Twitter
Bob Golen
@BobGolen
Meant to go the the smoke shop but inadvertently ended up in the men’s store next door.  Clothes but no cigar.
10:12 PM · Oct 26, 2018·Twitter Web Client

Twitter
kristine thune
@kristinetuna
someone should buy an old smoke shop, turn it into an apparel store and call it “clothes but no cigar”
12:57 AM · Jan 10, 2019·Twitter for iPhone

Twitter
Ryan Day
@ryaneatscake
Went to my favorite smoke shop last night to find it had been turned into a Goodwill.
Clothes, but no cigar.
10:15 AM · Feb 7, 2020·Twitter for iPhone

Twitter
Bob Golen
@BobGolen
Went to my smokes shop and found it’s been turned into a T.J.Maxx.  Clothes but no cigar.
1:37 PM · Feb 19, 2020·Twitter Web App

Reddit—Dadjokes
Posted by u/HellsJuggernaut February 23, 2020
I went to my local tobacconist to discover that it has been replaced by a clothing store…
Clothes, but no cigar.

Twitter
Doc is automated Take Care Of Each Other
@DocAtCDI
I went to a smoke shop to discover that it has been replaced by an apparel store. Clothes, but no cigar.
6:14 AM · Aug 23, 2020·PunsByDocAtCDI

Reddit—Cleanjokes
Posted by u/btheninger October 20, 2020
I went to a smoke shop to discover that it had been replaced by an apparel store.
Clothes, but no cigar.