eyewash

[ ahy-wosh, ahy-wawsh ]

/ ˈaɪˌwɒʃ, ˈaɪˌwɔʃ /

Also called collyrium. Pharmacology. a solution applied locally to the eye for irrigation or administering medication.

Informal. nonsense; bunk.

Origin of eyewash

First recorded in 1865–70; eye + wash

All the high-sounding arguments for a moral world and all the laws on the books implementing those arguments are just eyewash.

The House from Nowhere |Arthur G. Stangland
The eye is then covered with a cloth, kept wet with an eyewash, as for external ophthalmia.

Special Report on Diseases of the Horse |United States Department of Agriculture
The leaves and flowers are also used as expectorants, and the juice of the fruit and leaves is used as an eyewash.

Catalogue of Economic Plants in the Collection of the U. S. Department of Agriculture |William Saunders

eyewash

/ (ˈaɪˌwɒʃ) /

a mild solution for applying to the eyes for relief of irritation, etc

informal nonsense; rubbish

eyewash

[ ī′wŏsh′ ]

A soothing solution for bathing or medicating the eye.