where did the phrase E is for effort come from

The phrase most likely comes from the old saying “A for effort” —meaning someone tried hard even if the result wasn’t great. A lot of people mishear or rephrase it as “E for effort,” but the standard expression is “A for effort.”

Where it comes from

The idea behind the phrase is school grading: an A is the top mark, so “A for effort” is a playful way to praise trying hard even when the outcome is weak. The wording has been common enough to show up in modern discussion for years, with people debating whether “E” or “A” is “correct.”

Why “E” shows up

“E for effort” appears to be a later reinterpretation, usually because the word effort starts with E, so it sounds neat on the surface. But historically, the phrase people actually use is “A for effort,” and online discussions repeatedly treat “E for effort” as the mistaken version.

A related confusion

Some people connect the phrase to older grading systems where E was used as a failing grade in some schools, which may help explain why the “E” version feels plausible. But that’s more of a separate grading-history explanation than the origin of the expression itself.

In plain English

If you hear someone say “A for effort,” they mean: “You didn’t succeed, but I can see you tried.” That’s the form with the longer and clearer history in common usage.

TL;DR: The phrase comes from “A for effort,” a school-grading metaphor for trying hard; “E for effort” is a later mix-up or variant, not the original common form.