A miss is as good as a mile is a proverb, which is a short, common saying or phrase that gives advice or shares a universal truth. Often, a proverb is so familiar that a speaker will only quote half of it, relying on the listener to supply the ending of the proverb himself. We will examine the meaning of the proverb a miss is as good as a mile, where it came from and some examples of its use in sentences.
A miss is as good as a mile means that a miss is still a miss, no matter how wide or narrow a margin one misses by. This may be a positive or a negative situation. If one misses kicking a soccer ball into the net by one inch, it is still a miss and no score is made. If a boulder misses falling on your house by an inch, it is still a miss and no harm has befallen you. Though at this time the earliest known instances of the use of the proverb a miss is as good as a mile is in America in the late 1700s, the term has its roots in Britain. An earlier rendition of this sentiment is found in William Camden’s Remaines of a Greater Worke Concerning Britaine, published in 1614. “An ynche in a misse is as good as an ell.” (An ell is an old measurement of approximately forty-five inches.)
Examples
While a miss is as good as a mile and in the annals of Olympic history, there are many athletics with more compelling and heartbreaking stories, this missed opportunity was almost impossible for Peng Siong to bear. (The Straits Times)
But a miss is as good as a mile to the battle-hardened soldiers slouching nonchalantly alongside me. (The Daily Mail)