Idiom
clear blue water
Meaning
An obvious, unambiguous divide between the policies of two parties.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“The two candidates have clear blue water between them on tax policy.”
“There is now clear blue water between the two groups regarding healthcare spending.”
“The new party leader wants to put clear blue water between his policies and those of his predecessor to win over voters.”
“The government is trying to create clear blue water between its environmental plans and the weaker regulations proposed by the opposition.”
“To attract different voters, the mayor needs to show clear blue water between his current strategy and the failed projects of the past.”
“By rejecting the traditional platform, the senator successfully established clear blue water between her own progressive agenda and the more conservative stance of her primary opponent.”
Examples
simple
“The two candidates have clear blue water between them on tax policy.”
“There is now clear blue water between the two groups regarding healthcare spending.”
contextual
“The new party leader wants to put clear blue water between his policies and those of his predecessor to win over voters.”
“The government is trying to create clear blue water between its environmental plans and the weaker regulations proposed by the opposition.”
“To attract different voters, the mayor needs to show clear blue water between his current strategy and the failed projects of the past.”
complex
“By rejecting the traditional platform, the senator successfully established clear blue water between her own progressive agenda and the more conservative stance of her primary opponent.”
Origin
The term emerged in the 1990s, introduced by the Conservative Party to denote a distinct separation between their own policies and those of the opposition. The phrase suggests a maritime distance, provided by the party to ensure that their political positioning was not confused with that of their rivals.
Key words
Related idioms
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