won't wash

Idioms and Phrases

Will not stand up to examination, is unconvincing, will not work, as in That excuse about your sick aunt just won't wash . This expression originally alluded to a fabric that would not stand up to washing but by the late 1800s was used figuratively for other kinds of failure.

Example Sentences

This cynical attempt to kick the issue into the long grass won't wash with voters.

From BBC

But if he’s shifting his AI efforts out of Tesla, that obviously won’t wash.

From Los Angeles Times

“I worry that if people put on masks, then they’ll think, OK, I’m protected, and they won’t wash their hands as vigorously or be careful not to touch their faces,” one expert told Slate’s What Next very early in the pandemic.

From Slate

Mason Mount fan 'won't wash or sell shirt'

From BBC

For serious tax analysts, this argument won’t wash: One rationale for the preferential rate on capital gains, after all, is to compensate for inflation.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• astonishing
• implausible
• impossible
• improbable
• inconceivable
• incredible
• outlandish
• preposterous
• too much
• unimaginable
• unthinkable