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
Silvia	SEEL-vyah (Italian), SEEL-byah (Spanish)	Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, English, German, Late Roman, Roman Mythology
Madhavi	-	Hinduism, Indian, Telugu, Marathi, Hindi
Olga	OL-gah (Russian), AWL-gah (Polish, German)	Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Latvian, Hungarian, Itali
Sheree	SHER-ee, shə-REE	English
Bartol	-	Croatian (Rare)
Sawney	-	Scottish