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If at first you don't succeed, try, try again

  1. Keep trying.


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Idioms and Phrases

Don't let a first-time failure stop further attempts. For example, I know it's hard at first to shift gears without stalling but if at first you don't succeed . . . This seemingly ancient adage was first recorded only in 1840 but has become so well known that it is often shortened.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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