"Call it a wash"

[Smiling]

Could someone explain me the meaning of this saying and where it came from ?

TIA

[SW_SN]

I don't know where it came from.

But according to Dictionary.com, "wash" as a verb means: "An activity, action, or enterprise that yields neither marked gain nor marked loss." The example given is: "[The company] doesn't do badly. That is, it's a wash."

Hope this helps!

[Smiling]

Originally Posted by SW_SN

I don't know where it came from.
But according to Dictionary.com, "wash" as a verb means: "An activity, action, or enterprise that yields neither marked gain nor marked loss." The example given is: "[The company] doesn't do badly. That is, it's a wash."
Hope this helps!

Thank you. But it is still not clear to me what "call it a wash" means. Could you (or anyone else's input would be greatly appreciated) give me some examples.

[SW_SN]

I think it's a phrase commonly used in the US, when losses and gains OR advantages and disadvantages cross each other out. E.g. The new diet plan is a wash. It reduces your risk of getting cancer but increases your risk of suffering a stroke. E.g. This notebook has a 1400x900 pixel 14" screen and this other one has a 1280x768 17" screen. I'd say it's a wash.

I think it's sometimes also used to mean "let's call it even" or "let's call it a draw".

I hardly hear it in Singapore. So maybe someone more familiar with this phrase could help with more examples.