to throw cold water on, to put a damper on
Ele está sempre jogando água fria nas ideias dela.
He's always throwing cold water on her ideas.
The image is bodily and instant: a bucket of cold water dumped on someone snuffs out their heat and excitement in a heartbeat. To jogar um balde de água fria ("to throw a bucket of cold water") is, figuratively, to kill someone's enthusiasm with bad news or a flat refusal.
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