rain on one's parade

Idioms & Phrases

rain on one's parade

Spoil one's plans, as in The minority party in the legislature has tried hard to rain on the speaker's parade, but so far his agenda has prevailed. This expression conjures up the image of a downpour ruining a celebration such as a parade. [c. 1900]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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