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won't wash

SEE SYNONYMS FOR won't wash ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Words related to won't wash

unimaginable, incredible, improbable, unbelievable, unheard-of, strange, mind-boggling, implausible, impossible, extraordinary, unthinkable, questionable, uncertain, unusual, unsure, dubious, preposterous, astonishing, outlandish, inconceivable

Words nearby won't wash

womyn, won, won ton, won't, won't hear of, won't wash, wonder, wonder boy, wonder child, wonder drug, wonder-stricken
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.