Synonyms

of the first water

Idioms

Of the finest quality, as in That was a play of the first water. This idiom refers to a grading system for diamonds for their color or luster (compared to the shininess of water). The system is no longer used but the term, used figuratively since the early 1800s, has survived it.

Example Sentences

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of the first water

The turning point came in the 1970s with the Clean Water Act, which introduced some of the first water pollution regulations.

From Slate ● May 26, 2025

The small park has not only adapted to recent technologies but paved the way, like with the addition of one of the first water coaster hybrids in the world.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 12, 2022

Ultimately, it doesn't matter that Dance Moms is cerebrum-melting guff of the first water.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 13, 2013

It’s a locked-room mystery of the first water, albeit one with rubble, tanks and the smashed carcasses of automobiles piled up outside the room.

From Time ● Jul. 6, 2012

I saw that great judgment was necessary, while convinced in my own mind that I possessed a jewel of the first water.

From The Mapleson Memoirs, vol I 1848-1888 by Mapleson, James H.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

of the first water

Example Sentences

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