Come up short

For checking the transcript: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2379282

Come up short

means to fail to achieve a goal, miss a target, or not have quite enough of something—even if you tried your best. It often implies you were close, but not close enough.

Examples:

1- The team gave it their all in the championship game but came up short by just one goal.

2- The actor was nominated for an Oscar three times but always came up short. Still, fans love his work.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to Daily English! today’s expression is “come up short.” once again: come up short.

Can you guess what it means? Here are two quick hints: A basketball team plays hard and scores a lot—but loses the game by just two points. The coach says, “We came up short.”
You’re trying to buy something that costs $20, but you only have $18. You came up short.
So what does this expression really mean?

To come up short means to fail to achieve a goal, miss a target, or not have quite enough of something—even if you tried your best. It often implies you were close, but not close enough.

Examples: "The team gave it their all in the championship game but came up short by just one goal."
"I tried to save enough money for a weekend trip, but I came up short and had to cancel."
"The actor was nominated for an Oscar three times but always came up short. Still, fans love his work."
You can use this expression in so many situations:✔️ Sports✔️ Finances✔️ Goals or competitions✔️ Efforts that almost succeed

Can you think of a time you came up short? Maybe it was a test score, a competition, or even trying to catch the bus! I’d love to hear your story.