pour cold water on

Idioms and Phrases

Also, throw cold water on . Discourage or deter, as in Cutting my year-end bonus poured cold water on my loyalty to the company , or Hearing about the outbreak of cholera threw cold water on our plans to visit Bolivia . This term, with its image of putting out a fire with water, at one time meant “defame” or “slander”; the modern meaning dates from about 1800.

Example Sentences

From the get-go, newspapers here have been pouring cold water on Paris 2024.

From BBC

"All along the way we were being hit and sworn at and humiliated. And they poured cold water on us".

From BBC

Legal experts poured cold water on the Trump team’s arguments.

From Salon

It has also poured cold water on the belief among many investors that the U.S. economy will achieve a “soft landing.”

From New York Times

However, it would be up to the government whether or not to allow time for their proposal to be debated and voted on, and Downing Street appeared to pour cold water on the idea.

From BBC