"old college try" meaning in English

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "old college tries",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "head": "old college try"
      },
      "expansion": "old college try (plural old college tries)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1929, Munsey's Magazine, volume 96, number 3, page 355",
          "text": "Those who have seen Ruth make the \"old college try\" understand that some professionals play with a spiritual fervor which is supposed to be the amateur's prerogative.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1980, T. E. Kalem, \"Happy Hangover\" (theatre review of Fifth of July), Time, 17 Nov.",
          "text": "Reeve gives his role the old college try—fervent amateurism."
        },
        {
          "ref": "2003 April 6, Keith Parsons, “Janzen takes two-shot lead in BellSouth Classic”, in USA Today, retrieved 2009-08-16",
          "text": "You know, all I can do is go out there and give it the old college try and play my hardest.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A vigorous, committed attempt or effort, often in the context of a nearly hopeless situation where failure is expected."
      ],
      "id": "en-old_college_try-en-noun-MhIwD8ht",
      "links": [
        [
          "vigorous",
          "vigorous"
        ],
        [
          "committed",
          "committed"
        ],
        [
          "attempt",
          "attempt"
        ],
        [
          "effort",
          "effort"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(informal) A vigorous, committed attempt or effort, often in the context of a nearly hopeless situation where failure is expected."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "give it one's best shot"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "old college try"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "old college tries",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "head": "old college try"
      },
      "expansion": "old college try (plural old college tries)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "give it one's best shot"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English countable nouns",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English informal terms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English nouns",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1929, Munsey's Magazine, volume 96, number 3, page 355",
          "text": "Those who have seen Ruth make the \"old college try\" understand that some professionals play with a spiritual fervor which is supposed to be the amateur's prerogative.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1980, T. E. Kalem, \"Happy Hangover\" (theatre review of Fifth of July), Time, 17 Nov.",
          "text": "Reeve gives his role the old college try—fervent amateurism."
        },
        {
          "ref": "2003 April 6, Keith Parsons, “Janzen takes two-shot lead in BellSouth Classic”, in USA Today, retrieved 2009-08-16",
          "text": "You know, all I can do is go out there and give it the old college try and play my hardest.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A vigorous, committed attempt or effort, often in the context of a nearly hopeless situation where failure is expected."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "vigorous",
          "vigorous"
        ],
        [
          "committed",
          "committed"
        ],
        [
          "attempt",
          "attempt"
        ],
        [
          "effort",
          "effort"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(informal) A vigorous, committed attempt or effort, often in the context of a nearly hopeless situation where failure is expected."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "old college try"
}