Can't hold water 🚫💧🏺
Meaning
An argument, plan, or explanation is not logical or believable.
Origin
Imagine you're trying to carry water in a sieve. It just won't work, right? That's the basic idea behind this idiom. It paints a vivid picture of something inherently flawed and unable to contain what it's supposed to. While its exact origins are a bit murky, the image of leaky containers has been around for centuries, readily applied to anything that cannot withstand scrutiny or prove sound.
Can't hold water represented with emoji🚫💧🏺
This playful arrangement of 🚫💧🏺 serves as a delightful visual riddle, inviting us to ponder the very essence of logic and credibility. It challenges the viewer to think about how we communicate ideas and underscores the elusive nature of a sound argument, echoing the age-old adage that some propositions simply cannot hold water.
Examples
- His excuse for being late simply can't hold water; he admitted he overslept.
- The company's justification for the price increase can't hold water, especially when their profits are soaring.
- The wizard's claim that he accidentally turned the baker into a teapot can't hold water, not when he was also wearing a pointy hat and chuckling.
- The dragon's explanation for why all the knight's armor had mysteriously melted can't hold water, particularly since there was a faint smell of toast in the air.
Frequently asked questions
'Can't hold water' is an idiom. Idioms are phrases where the meaning isn't deducible from the individual words, much like this one, where it signifies a flawed argument rather than a literal inability to contain liquid.
The opposite of 'can't hold water' is that an argument or plan 'holds water', meaning it is logical, sound, and believable. This implies that something is well-constructed and can withstand examination.
While primarily used for arguments or plans, 'can't hold water' can sometimes be metaphorically applied to people if their explanations or justifications are consistently illogical. However, it's more common to describe their statements or ideas as not holding water, rather than the person themselves.
The exact individual who coined 'can't hold water' is unknown, as it evolved from common imagery. The concept of something being leaky or flawed, rendering it useless for holding things, likely existed long before it was used idiomatically for arguments.