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

That would amount to an additional $650 million per quarter, signaling Paramount’s confidence that its deal would more readily pass muster with regulators than Netflix’s.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 10, 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 Breuer’s older track lighting system on its upper gallery floors didn’t pass muster for today’s auction needs, said Lisa Dennison, chairman of Sotheby’s Americas.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 17, 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