You almost succeeded locating obscure novel (5,3,2,5)
I believe the answer is:
close but no cigar
'you' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I cannot tell whether it can be defined by this definition.
'almost succeeded locating obscure novel' is the wordplay.
'almost' means to remove the first letter.
'succeeded' becomes 's' (genealogical abbreviation).
'novel' indicates anagramming the letters (letters in a new or novel order).
's'+'locating'+'obscure'='slocatingobscure'
'slocatingobscure' with its initial letter removed is 'locatingobscure'.
'locatingobscure' is an anagram of 'CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for close but no cigar that I've seen before include "Very nearly" , "not good enough for Havana?" , "It's not quite good enough" .)