Pause attempt to shoot after four failures? (4,4)
I believe the answer is:
take five
'pause attempt' is the definition.
'take five' can be an answer for 'pause' (taking five is a kind of pausing). I'm unsure of the 'attempt' bit.
'shoot after four failures?' is the wordplay.
'shoot' becomes 'take' (synonyms).
'after four failures?' becomes 'five' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'take'+'five'='TAKE FIVE'
'to' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for take five that I've seen before include "Enjoy the rest!" , "jazz number" , "Have a break (colloq.)" , "Break briefly" , "Have a short break (by Brubeck?)" .)