get an A for effort

To receive an acknowledgement of appreciation for attempting a task, even if it did not produce a successful result. You forgot to sand the wood before you painted it, but you at least get an A for effort for trying to help. The company's new product has a lot of really ambitious and exciting new features, but in reality none of them works entirely as promised. They get an A for effort, I suppose. I don't care that your burned the roast, honey. You still get an A for effort in my book!