won't wash

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.

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Ayliffe	['eilif]
Simon	SIE-mən (English), see-MAWN (French), ZEE-mawn (German), SEE-mawn (Dutch)	English, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Hungarian, Slovene, Romanian, Macedonian
Swain	[swein]
Humbert	HUWM-bert (German), um-BER (French), HUM-bərt (English)	German, French, English (Rare), Ancient Germanic
DÉSirÉ	de-zee-RE	French
Boyka	-	Bulgarian