mud
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drag (one's) name through the mud
To disparage someone publicly, especially to the detriment of his or her reputation. I'm trying to maintain a fair and respectable campaign, and Brad totally dragged my name through the mud! Don't drag my name through the mud—you're the one who messed up the budget!
throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stick
If you make enough attempts or guesses, some of them will be correct or useful. This is the latest version of my invention, and I think it's really going to work this time. Throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stick, right? It took awhile, but we finally came up with some great ideas in the meeting today—throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stick.
be as clear as mud
To be difficult to see or understand. I guess I need to call a lawyer because these legal contracts are as clear as mud.
stick in the mud
Someone who is considered boring, often due to unpopular or outdated beliefs. Sally was tired of being called a stick in the mud by her friends just because she refused to drink alcohol. Just because I don't like roller coasters doesn't mean I'm a stick in a mud—I like lots of other fun things!
(as) clear as mud
Difficult to see or understand; not clear at all. I guess I need to call a lawyer because these legal contracts are as clear as mud.
Bottoms up!
and Here's looking at you.; Here's mud in your eye.; Here's to you.Inf. an expression said as a toast when people are drinking together. (Alludes to the bottoms of the drinking glasses.) Bill: Bottoms up. Tom: Here's mud in your eye. Bill: Ah, that one was good. Care for another?
See also: Bottom
*clear as mud
1. Cliché not clear at all. (*Also: as ~.) Your swimming pool needs cleaning; the water is clear as mud.
2. Cliché not easy to understand. (*Also: as ~.) This physics chapter is clear as mud to me. I did all the reading, but it's still as clear as mud.
one's name is mud
Fig. one is in trouble or humiliated. If I can't get this contract signed, my name will be mud. His name is mud ever since he broke the crystal vase.
stick-in-the-mud
Fig. a dull and old-fashioned person. Don't be such an old stick-in-the-mud. some stick-in-the-mud objected to the kind of music we wanted to play in church.
(as) clear as mud
very difficult to understand His traffic directions were as clear as mud.
Opposite of: (as) plain as dayUsage notes: used to humorously explain that there was a problem
be as clear as mud
(humorous) to be impossible to understand 'Does that make sense?' 'Yes, it's as clear as mud.'
drag somebody's name through the mire/mud
to tell people about something bad that someone has done so that people will have a bad opinion of them Her name was dragged through the mud after she admitted offering money in return for votes.
Here's mud in your eye!
(old-fashioned) something that you say in order to wish success or happiness to someone who is drinking with you Well, here's mud in your eye! I hope you'll both be very happy together.
See also: mud
Mud sticks.
(British & Australian) something that you say which means it is difficult to make people change their bad opinion of someone The court cleared him of fraud, but mud sticks.
sling/throw mud at somebody
if someone slings mud at another person, they try to make other people have a low opinion of them by saying unpleasant things about them Companies should think carefully before slinging mud at someone who may respond with a libel action costing millions of dollars.
somebody's name is mud
(informal) if someone's name is mud, other people are angry with that person because of something they have done or said Well he'd better turn up tonight or his name will be mud.
a stick-in-the-mud
someone who has old-fashioned ideas and does not want to try new activities 'Anyway, I'm not interested in married men.' 'Oh, don't be such a stick-in-the-mud.'
clear as mud
Murky, obscure, totally unclear, as in The translation of these directions is clear as mud. This ironic phrase always indicates that something is far from clear. [Early 1800s]
my name is mud
see under name is mud.
name is mud, one's
One is in trouble, disgraced, or discredited, as in If they find out I broke it, my name will be mud, or If his estimate is completely wrong, his name will be mud. A popular theory for this expression's origin derives it from Dr. Samuel Mudd, the physician who was convicted as conspirator after he set the broken ankle of President Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth. But the expression was first recorded in 1823, when mud was slang for a stupid person or fool, a usage dating from the early 1700s. Later the term mud simply alluded to discredit.
See also: name
sling mud at
Insult or discredit someone, as in The paper became famous for slinging mud at movie stars. This term replaced throw mud at, which dates from the second half of the 1700s.
(as) clear as mud
mod. not understandable at all. All of this is clear as mud to me.
clear as mud
verbSee as clear as mud
Here’s mud in your eye
sent. I salute you. (A jocular drinking toast.) Here’s mud in your eye. Bottoms up!
mud duck
n. an ugly person. She’s a mud duck, but she’s got a sense of humor.
stick in the mud
n. a dull and old-fashioned person. Don’t be such an old stick in the mud.
your name is mud
A dishonored reputation. Folk etymology would have it that “mud” is really “Mudd,” as in Dr. Samuel Mudd, the physician who was imprisoned for conspiring with John Wilkes Booth and then treating Booth's broken leg following Lincoln's assassination. However, the phrase was recorded some twenty years before Lincoln died. In truth, one 19th-century meaning of “mud” was a fool (as in a rustic clodhopper), not a good epithet to have attached to your good name.