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throw cold water on

to discourage an idea

In Headline Expressions

In more detail

(idiom) to express doubt or disapproval about an idea or plan in a way that discourages someone from pursuing it

Examples

• When I suggested we go to the beach, my parents threw cold water on the idea because of the storm forecast.

How to use throw cold water on

This idiom is used when someone criticizes or expresses skepticism about a proposal or plan in a way that discourages its pursuit. It carries a tone of practical pessimism rather than malice, and is often used in business, personal, or political contexts. It implies the critic may have valid concerns, whereas simply "rejecting" something is more neutral.

Register: informal

Common phrases

• throw cold water on the idea
• throw cold water on the proposal
• throw cold water on the plan
• throw cold water on someone's dreams
• throw cold water on optimism

Synonyms

pour cold water on · dampen someone's enthusiasm · discourage · deflate · shoot down

Opposites

encourage · support · endorse

A common mistake

Learners sometimes use 'throw' with other liquids like 'throw hot water on' or overextend the idiom by changing its core metaphor, which weakens the expression's idiomaticity.

Nearby in Headline Expressions

under fire, on thin ice, draw a line in the sand, a slippery slope, a level playing field, moving the needle

Keep going

How to remember the words you read · Spaced repetition, explained