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I've came across this article which uses the phrase "poured cloud water". Is this a well known expression? Searching Google, the first page shows me only places where this article is quoted.

From the article the meaning would seem to be "to debunk", if it's a well known phrase is that accurate? And where does the phrase come from? Cloud water is rain, I guess. Why would raining mean something like that and in such a wording?
Could be that the writer invented it, but it seems strange to me.

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I believe it was a typo that got auto-corrected by the writer's word processor. The expression is "to pour cold water on something."

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  • Good inference!
    – JSBձոգչ
    Commented Jun 21, 2011 at 18:56
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This is obviously a typo. The phrase that should have been used is "poured cold water on ..."

To pour cold water on something is to discourage it or stifle it in some way.

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I think they're mixing their metaphors:

Pour cold water on...

Cloud the water...
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  • In your second phrase, the more usual expression is to muddy the waters, meaning to bring in so many extraneous details that the original point can no longer be seen clearly.
    – MT_Head
    Commented Jun 21, 2011 at 22:24
  • "More usual"? Not around here. They're both familiar phrases, and mean very similar things. The difference being you can only muddy waters with mud, but you can cloud water innumerable ways. Besides, I doubt even the SCMagazine's journalists would conflate "Pour cold water" and "Muddy the waters" into "Pour cloud water" ;-)
    – Pavling
    Commented Jun 21, 2011 at 22:41

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