throw cold water on
English
WOTD – 1 June 2017
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /θɹəʊ kəʊld ˈwɔːtə(ɹ) ɒn/, /θɹəʊ kɔʊld ˈwɔːtə(ɹ) ɒn/
- (General American) IPA(key): /θɹoʊ koʊld ˈwɔtɚ ɑn/, /θɹoʊ koʊld ˈwɔɾɚ ɑn/
Audio (AU) (file) - Hyphenation: throw cold wa‧ter on
Verb
throw cold water on (third-person singular simple present throws cold water on, present participle throwing cold water on, simple past threw cold water on, past participle thrown cold water on)
- (transitive, idiomatic) (of an achievement, emotion, idea, suggestion, etc.) To belittle or dismiss; to cast doubt upon; to debunk.
- 1815 December 23, [Jane Austen], chapter XVII, in Emma: A Novel. In Three Volumes, volume III, London: Printed for John Murray, published 1816, →OCLC, page 329:
- Oh! no; there would be a Mrs. Knightley to throw cold water on every thing.—Extremely disagreeable!
- 1904, Arthur M. Winfield (Edward Stratemeyer), “Something about the Military Academy”, in The Rover Boys in Camp: or The Rivals of Pine Island (Famous Rover Boys' Series), New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC, page 49:
- "Now, Peleg, don't throw cold water on my enthusiasm," said Tom reproachfully.
- 2008 January 15, Don Walker, “Forget the wind chill. How 'bout that windfall?: With the Packers' season in double overtime, Brown County businesses are seeing green”, in Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee, Wis.: Journal Sentinel, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 9 March 2016:
- Sports economists tend to throw cold water on such studies, saying they often rely on unreliable or exaggerated data.
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Further reading
- Colin McIntosh, editor (2013), “throw cold water on sth”, in Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 4th edition, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, retrieved 14 February 2017, reproduced in the Cambridge English Dictionary website, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- “throw cold water on”, in Collins English Dictionary.
- “pour/throw cold water on”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present, reproduced from Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 2003, →OCLC.
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