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Synonyms

of the first water

Idioms  

  1. 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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

They were rascals of the first water, and, as you say, it was their lives or ours.

From The Radio Boys Rescue the Lost Alaska Expedition by Breckenridge, Gerald

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.