to hold up to scrutiny

1 5.3

To still be correct when people look at it carefully

phrasal verb

: resistir el escrutinio

Let's focus on some specific claims that Khosla made in his presentation, and see if they hold up to scrutiny.

Examples

It won't hold up to scrutiny.

No Way Out (1987)
Aspidoscelis: If you think privilege is like the geocentric model, something that describes reality in a roundabout, backward way that doesn't hold up to scrutiny, then you must think there's a simpler, more elegant model to present that holds the same explanatory power.

Blog text (29)
On the surface, these policy arguments seem compelling, but they fail to hold up to scrutiny.

Academic text (2010)
But for the period between the late 1910s and the late 1930s, it does not hold up to scrutiny.

Academic text (1994)
If anything, I'm impressed with how well Ridley's book has held up to scrutiny more than anything else.

Blog text (14)
That is, if their claims hold up to the scrutiny of the Lab, just like this Segway holds up to scrutiny the Ridge.
It is no wonder that scientific knowledge is so difficult to hold up to scrutiny (343).

Academic text (2010)
That doesn't mean that this distinction holds up to scrutiny, nor that my disagreement with you entails some sort of failure on my part.

Blog text (8)
On the surface, these policy arguments seem compelling, but they fail to hold up to scrutiny.
Each claim of a phenomenon that violates that law has stirred animated debate, and none has held up to scrutiny.

Synonyms

to hold water

vsto hold up to scrutiny

12 4.9

To make sense and seem believable when checked

is about remaining valid and justified under careful critical examination

to hold up to

vsto hold up to scrutiny

5 4.1

Be as good as people expect

focuses on surviving careful critical examination instead of just meeting expectations

to pass the smell test

vsto hold up to scrutiny

Informal

3 7.8

Seem honest and believable when people check it

requires surviving careful critical examination rather than common approval

Antonyms

to disprove

66 4.5

To show that an idea or claim is not true

to invalidate

Formal

33 6.1

To make a document or agreement have no legal effect anymore

How Defensible

to hold up to scrutiny

1 5.3

failing

1 3.4

collapse

350 4.1

Surface Forms

hold up to scrutiny infinitive

holding up to scrutiny present participle

holds up to scrutiny third person singular

held up to scrutiny past

held up to scrutiny past participle

Morphology

hold + up + to + scrutiny

The phrase is largely compositional: 'scrutiny' means careful examination and the combination 'hold up' is used here in the sense 'withstand' or 'remain valid'. However, 'hold up' is a phrasal verb with multiple senses (e.g. delay, rob, or withstand) and the particle 'up' shifts the base verb meaning, so a B1 learner who only knows the separate words may not reliably infer the precise sense without prior exposure.

Etymology

Hold up to scrutiny comes from the image of someone who would hold up an object to a light for a careful look, and scrutiny means that close check. If the object still looks fine when checked, it 'holds up'. That's why hold up to scrutiny means 'to remain true or correct when checked closely'.