pour cold water on

Idioms  

1. Also, throw cold water on. Discourage or deter, as in Cutting my year-end bonus poured cold water on my loyalty to the company, or Hearing about the outbreak of cholera threw cold water on our plans to visit Bolivia. This term, with its image of putting out a fire with water, at one time meant “defame” or “slander”; the modern meaning dates from about 1800.

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Example Sentences

As always, though, winter weather could pour cold water on some of those festive getaways.

From Los Angeles Times

But Peskov poured cold water on the idea, saying it was "premature" for the two presidents to meet.

From BBC

I also always bring a bandanna to help evade the dust and I will pour cold water on it on a hot day and wrap it around my neck to cool off.

From Los Angeles Times

From the get-go, newspapers here have been pouring cold water on Paris 2024.

From BBC

It has also poured cold water on the belief among many investors that the U.S. economy will achieve a “soft landing.”

From New York Times