hold (one's) water

(redirected from hold their water)
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hold (one's) water

1. To refrain from urinating. Can you please try to hold your water a bit longer? There is a rest stop not too far from here. We just transitioned our daughter out of diapers, and she's having a very hard time holding her water so far.
2. To be calm or patient; to stop making pressing demands, requests, or solicitations. Janet needs to hold her water and just let the committee do its job. You kids hold your water back there or I swear I'll turn this car right around!
See also: hold, water
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

hold water

Stand up to critical examination, be sound and valid, as in This argument just won't hold water, or Her reasons for quitting don't hold water. This metaphoric expression alludes to a container that can hold water without leaking. [c. 1600]
See also: hold, water
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

hold water

(of a statement, theory, or line of reasoning) appear to be valid, sound, or reasonable.
See also: hold, water
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

hold ˈwater

(informal) (of a theory, etc.) remain true even when examined closely: Your argument just doesn’t hold water.
If a container holds water, no water escapes.
See also: hold, water
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

hold water

tv. [for an idea, plan, etc.] to survive evaluation or scrutiny. Nothing you’ve said so far holds water.
See also: hold, water
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

hold water

To stand up to critical examination: Your explanation doesn't hold water.
See also: hold, water
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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References in periodicals archive ?
Proof if any was needed, that it's not just our little Royal Navy fleet that can't hold their water, but our equally inept and dysfunctional foreign office and Tory administration.
Sinking feeling after major leaks
Wireless carriers and chipmakers will be making news at this week's International CES show in Las Vegas, and although many phone-makers are expected to hold their water until upcoming conferences, vendors selling peripheral smartphones gadgets will unveil such devices as a slow cooker powered by a mobile application and a bracelet that tracks the wearer's exposure to the sun.
Smartphone gadget-makers aim to make a splash in Las Vegas
In work over cities on three continents, cloud physicist Daniel Rosenfeld and his colleagues found that clouds polluted with industrial emissions tend to hold their water rather than releasing it as rain (SN: 3/11/00, p.
Dust, the Thermostat
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