cast aspersions

cast aspersions

To talk negatively or unflatteringly about someone or something. I'm sorry to cast aspersions on Julie, but her work ethic is really terrible. She hasn't handed one assignment in on time! Bill says that he doesn't want to cast aspersions on anyone, but he still talks badly about us all the time!
See also: aspersion, cast
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

cast aspersions, to

To make a derogatory or highly critical remark, either fairly or, more often, unfairly. An older meaning of the verb “to asperse” is to sprinkle or scatter, and “aspersion” itself once meant a shower or spray. The full phrase is newer, but we find the same meaning in Sheridan’s play, The Rivals (1775), in which Mrs. Malaprop complains bitterly of “an attack upon my language! . . . an aspersion upon my parts of speech” (3:3).
See also: cast
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • cast aspersions on
  • cast aspersions on (someone or something)
  • cast aspersions, to
  • aspersion
  • dirty-mouth
  • bad mouth
  • bad-mouth
  • set a great deal by (someone or something)
  • set much by (someone or something)
  • poor-mouth
References in periodicals archive
These remarks are demoralizing and cast aspersions on the system.
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This is not intended to cast aspersions on the efficiency and performance (read over-efficiency) of the investigators.
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Singh has cast aspersions on the aggrieved father saying "I doubt how the girl died.
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He said while India has cast aspersions on Pakistan, it continues to sponsor terrorism in Pakistan directly through its state apparatus.
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"They seem to be going out of their way to cast aspersions on what she's had to say," Wishart said.
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We don't mean to cast aspersions of the serviceability of components received from Numrich or your budding abilities, but small, flat springs can be very prone to breakage if improperly heat treated or roughly mishandled.
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SHE has set herself up as some sort of judge to cast aspersions on how the rest of us live our lives.
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Not even Scottish Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead has been able or willing to cast aspersions on the performance of his English counterpart in negotiations.
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With the celebrations over, there are naturally those who would now cast aspersions on such success, with one suggestion being Red Bull know how to splash the cash.
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He said: "To cast aspersions on same-sex couples' ability to provide safety and security is profoundly irresponsible."
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A letter from Jack Wall, the chairman of the board of regents, delivered to Ransom on Tuesday notifying him of Friday's meeting said Ransom's "decision to ignore, disregard, or violate" directives from the board not to cast aspersions on the proposal or the flagship campus had "caused considerable disruption and undermined [his] leadership."
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US presidential hopeful Mitt Romney may have been eager to cast aspersions on the character of the nation that welcomed him to its shores yesterday, by questioning our readiness to hold the Games and the reception the athletes would receive.
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According to her letter, Suja was questioned about her " morality, childhood and her family members' morality", and the police even allegedly cast aspersions on the entire episode.
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Gadkari, while inaugurating BJP's West Bengal unit's website in the state capital Kolkata yesterday cast aspersions on the Congress party, especially its national president Sonia Gandhi.
BJP chief lashes out at Congress over corruption