to pass muster
11
6.6
- phrasal verb
:
pasar la prueba
- Proposed rules drafted by the advisory committee eventually passed muster with the Judicial Conference in 2005.
And So what I'm doing is I'm saying this has to pass muster with the Democratic test.
- And So what I'm doing is I'm saying this has to pass muster with the Democratic test.
- But it it didn't, it did not pass muster because she had to be the one to dictate that.
- When these drugs were first introduced, careful studies that passed muster in the best medical journals found that they were highly effective.
Examples
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In other words, Obamacare passed muster under the taxing clause but flunked the Commerce Clause.
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The important thing is that gay marriage has never passed muster with voters.
Blog text (12) -
But I fear my efforts will not pass muster.
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No work of art she made could pass muster with him.
Fiction book (1994) -
Teachers may not be encouraged to teach in "outside the box" ways for fear that they wouldn't pass muster in the current system of evaluation.
Academic text (2013) -
You pass muster.
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Find out what about your presentation didn't pass muster—is it your experience, your assumptions, what?
Blog text (1) -
Of the twenty-four drawings that Fairs made in this notebook, only twelve passed muster.
Blog text (34) -
Organically grown soybeans intended for the tofu market won't pass muster if they're stained.
Academic text (2002) -
The proposal for the new school program must pass muster with the school board before it can be implemented.
Synonyms
39
3.7
To be as good as expected or needed
17
3.8
To be good enough to meet a standard or expectation
3
7.8
Seem honest and believable when people check it
Antonyms
How Acceptable
Surface Forms
Morphology
pass + muster
The expression is literally compositional: 'pass' (to meet or succeed relative to a standard) combined with 'muster' (historically an assembly/inspection) yields the meaning 'to pass an inspection' or 'be judged acceptable'. While 'muster' is relatively low-frequency/archaic, if a learner knows its inspection/gathering sense the overall meaning follows directly from the constituents.
Etymology
The idiom pass muster comes from old army inspections: when soldiers were mustered, they were lined up for an officer's check, and if they passed the check they were accepted. So the phrase now means 'to be judged acceptable'.