Idiom
pass muster
Meaning
To meet or exceed a particular standard.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“This report does not pass muster for the boss.”
“The new employee worked hard to ensure his performance would pass muster during the probationary period.”
“The architect revised the blueprints several times before the city council agreed that the design finally passed muster.”
Examples
simple
“This report does not pass muster for the boss.”
contextual
“The new employee worked hard to ensure his performance would pass muster during the probationary period.”
complex
“The architect revised the blueprints several times before the city council agreed that the design finally passed muster.”
Origin
From the 1570s, originally appearing as *pass musters*. The phrase is a compound of *pass*, meaning to undergo successfully, and *muster*, referring to a military assemblage or review. It records the moment a soldier or their equipment was deemed acceptable by a presiding officer.
Key words
Related idioms
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