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You are here: Home / Language / Where does the phrase “to hold water” come from and What does it mean?

Where does the phrase “to hold water” come from and What does it mean?

April 15, 2020 by Karen Hill

The literal sense of the expression “to hold water”, such as applied to a sound pitcher or bowl, gradually acquired in the early seventeenth century a figurative meaning, as if testing a pitcher for soundness by filling it with water, if unsound, the water would leak out.

Thus, figuratively, an unsound argument or fallacious reasoning would not “hold water” if it failed to stand a test.

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Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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