A for effort
Also found in: Acronyms.
A for effort
A verbal acknowledgement of appreciation for attempting a task, even if it did not produce a successful result. Well, I'll give you an A for effort for trying to help, but you forgot to sand the wood before you painted it, so unfortunately we'll have to do the whole thing over again. 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. 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!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
* A for effort
Fig. acknowledgement for having tried to do something, even if it was not successful. (*Typically: get ~; give someone ~.) The plan didn't work, but I'll give you an A for effort for trying.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.