hold water

present singular third person holds water · participle present holding water · participle past held water · past held water

1. idiomaticTo withstand scrutiny or criticism; to be valid.

   "Young man," he said, "upon this point I can only say that your story is grossly improbable. It won't hold water."

   1888, Horatio Alger, chapter 35, in The Errand Boy

   2 more examples

   At the parlay, Tyrion also tries to claim Tywin’s murder was self-defense, which holds some water, and despite Jaime’s anger, I suspect he can see it from that side.

   2017 August 13, Brandon Nowalk, “Oldtown offers one last game-changing secret as Game Of Thrones goes behind enemy lines (newbies)”, in The Onion AV Club, archived from the original on 17 Aug 2017

   So the argument that we can keep them ‘addicted’ holds no water. They want American chips right now for one simple reason: They are behind in the A.I. race and this will help them catch up while they build their own chip capabilities.

   2025 December 9, David E. Sanger, quoting Jake Sullivan, “Trump’s Nvidia Chip Deal Reverses Decades of Technology Restrictions”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC