won't wash

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Will not stand up to examination, is unconvincing, will not work, as in That excuse about your sick aunt just won't wash. This expression originally alluded to a fabric that would not stand up to washing but by the late 1800s was used figuratively for other kinds of failure.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "WAS" VS. "WERE"!

Were you ready for a quiz on this topic? Well, here it is! See how well you can differentiate between the uses of "was" vs. "were" in this quiz.

Question 1 of 7

“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

true

false

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Words nearby won't wash

Wŏnsan, wont, wonted, won't hear of, won ton, won't wash, woo, wood, wood alcohol, wood-and-water joey, wood anemone

How to use won't wash in a sentence

In 1992, Republican George H.W. Bush won the Asian-American vote by 24 points.
Asian-Americans Are The New Florida|Tim Mak|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
No Jewish woman has been crowned Miss America since Bess Myerson won in 1945.
Why Was Bess Myerson the First and Last Jewish Miss America?|Emily Shire|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Several Republicans won primaries in 2014 by running as ideologically pure conservatives who wanted new leadership in the House.
Kamikaze Congress Prepares to Strike Boehner|Ben Jacobs|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And keep in mind that when Huckabee ran for president in 2008, he won the Iowa caucuses.
The Devil in Mike Huckabee|Dean Obeidallah|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST

In a frightening development for the GOP, Democrats had won even traditionally Republican constituencies in the Midwest.
Thank Congress, Not LBJ for Great Society|Julian Zelizer, Scott Porch|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
There'll be heaps uh fun in the Cypress Hills country when they get t' runnin' the whisky-jacks out.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
He stood before the glass hung above the wash bench and 369 smoothed his hair.
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden
Then she won, and went half mad with the joy and excitement, but the joy didn't last long.
Rosemary in Search of a Father|C. N. Williamson
An with that I laid down on the settee, an felt orful bad, an the more I tho't about it, the wus I felt.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun;|Various
But the nasty part of the whole thing was, that Haggard had won eleven thousand pounds from a weak-headed boy.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills

won't wash

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