That pail still holds water.
Ernest told the police a story that wouldn't hold water.
Словарь американских идиом. — СПб., Изд-во "Лань". Оригинал: A.Маккей, М.Т.Боткер, Дж.И.Гейтс. 1997.
hold water — When you say that something does or does not hold water , it means that the point of view or argument put forward is or is not sound, strong or logical. For e.g., Saying we should increase our interest rates because everyone else is doing so will … The small dictionary of idiomes
hold water — ► hold water (of a theory) appear sound. Main Entry: ↑water … English terms dictionary
hold water — verb resist or withstand wear, criticism, etc. Her shoes won t hold up This theory won t hold water • Syn: ↑stand up, ↑hold up • Hypernyms: ↑survive, ↑last, ↑live … Useful english dictionary
hold water — (not) hold water if an opinion or a statement does not hold water, it can be shown to be wrong. Most of the arguments put forward by our opponents simply do not hold water … New idioms dictionary
hold water — (not) hold water if an opinion or a statement does not hold water, it can be shown to be wrong. If his theory holds water, it could be a breakthrough in cancer research … New idioms dictionary
hold water — See water your story just doesn t hold water Syn: be tenable, ring true, bear scrutiny, make sense, stand up, hold up, be convincing, be plausible, be sound … Thesaurus of popular words
hold water — {v. phr.} 1. To keep water without leaking. * /That pail still holds water./ 2. {informal} To prove true; stand testing; bear examination. Usually used in negative, interrogative, or conditional sentences. * /Ernest told the police a story that… … Dictionary of American idioms
hold water — {v. phr.} 1. To keep water without leaking. * /That pail still holds water./ 2. {informal} To prove true; stand testing; bear examination. Usually used in negative, interrogative, or conditional sentences. * /Ernest told the police a story that… … Dictionary of American idioms
hold water — tv. [for an idea, plan, etc.] to survive evaluation or scrutiny. □ Nothing you’ve said so far holds water. □ Her story doesn’t hold water … Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions
hold water — verb To withstand scrutiny or criticism; to be valid. Young man, he said, upon this point I can only say that your story is grossly improbable. It wont hold water … Wiktionary
