Explore our new BookBrowse Community Forum!

Why do we say "It will all come out in the wash"?

Well-Known Expressions

It will all come out in the wash

Meaning:

Things will work out/We'll find out the truth sooner or later - and there's no point worrying about it now.

Background:

This expression alludes to the power of washing to restore the appearance of clothes to their original state.

It must be said that this expression doesn't ring true in our house where, after a few washes, everything seems to have a uniform gray tinge about it.

The earliest recorded use of this sentiment is in Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (1605):
'All will away in the bucking.'

To 'buck' cloth was to steep it in lye as a form of bleaching.

More expressions and their source

Challenge yourself with BookBrowse Wordplays

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: Graveyard Shift
    Graveyard Shift
    by M. L. Rio
    Following the success of her debut novel, If We Were Villains, M. L. Rio's latest book is the quasi-...
  • Book Jacket: The Sisters K
    The Sisters K
    by Maureen Sun
    The Kim sisters—Minah, Sarah, and Esther—have just learned their father is dying of ...
  • Book Jacket: Linguaphile
    Linguaphile
    by Julie Sedivy
    From an infant's first attempts to connect with the world around them to the final words shared with...
  • Book Jacket
    The Rest of You
    by Maame Blue
    At the start of Maame Blue's The Rest of You, Whitney Appiah, a Ghanaian Londoner, is ringing in her...

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Pony Confidential
    by Christina Lynch

    In this whimsical mystery, a grumpy pony must clear his beloved human's name from a murder accusation.

Who Said...

He who opens a door, closes a prison

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

F the M

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.