pass muster

Idioms  

1. Meet a required standard, as in That yard cleanup won't pass muster with Mom. This expression originally meant “to undergo a military review without censure,” muster referring to an assembling of troops for inspection or a similar purpose. [Late 1500s]

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Example Sentences

And all such methods need to be scrutinized to see whether they can pass muster under the Arizona Constitution’s prohibition on “cruel and unusual punishment.”

From Slate • Feb. 24, 2026

Her excuse for changing the address on your mother’s account does not pass muster, even if your mother has been moved into a hospice facility.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 13, 2026

It isn’t clear whether that plan would also pass muster in the House.

From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026

"Will it pass muster with the Constitutional Court? I don't know. We have done our best," Shetty said.

From BBC • Dec. 11, 2025

The authorities were extremely strict about this, and the only kind of publication that would pass muster might be a quarterly on actuarial science for a prisoner studying accounting.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela