muddling
Making a mess
Muddling is mixing or mashing ingredients together, especially in cocktail-making where a bartender crushes herbs, fruit, or sugar in the bottom of a glass: muddling mint for a mojito.
More broadly, muddling is working through something in a confused or disorganized way: We're muddling through the new software, muddling along without a clear plan.
Causing utter confusion
- perplexingCausing mental confusion
- puzzlingCausing confusion or bewilderment
- bafflingImpossible to understand
- disorientingCausing loss of direction
befuddling · addling · clouding · obscuring · jumbling · garbling · scrambling · distorting
Mishandling through incompetence
- botchingDoing something poorly
- fumblingClumsy, uncoordinated handling
- blunderingActing with clumsy incompetence
- mishandlingManaging badly or clumsily
floundering · stumbling · bumbling · inept · clumsy · ham-handed · maladroit · sloppy
Mixed alcoholic beverage
- stirringArousing strong emotion
- crushingOverwhelming in intensity
- mashingCrushing into soft mass
- mintAromatic culinary herb
mojito · old-fashioned · julep · pestle · bitters · sugar · herbs · caipirinha
Managing under strain
- managingDirecting or controlling something
- strugglingExperiencing serious difficulty
- perseveringMaintaining effort despite difficulty
- enduringPersisting through time
plodding · trudging · improvising · winging-it · surviving · weathering · persisting
bewildering
Causing utter confusion
- perplexingCausing mental confusion
- puzzlingCausing confusion or bewilderment
- bafflingImpossible to understand
disorienting · befuddling · addling · clouding · obscuring · jumbling · garbling · scrambling · distorting · muddying
bungling
Mishandling through incompetence
- botchingDoing something poorly
- fumblingClumsy, uncoordinated handling
- blunderingActing with clumsy incompetence
mishandling · floundering · stumbling · bumbling · inept · clumsy · ham-handed · maladroit · sloppy · slipshod
cocktail
Mixed alcoholic beverage
mint · mojito · old-fashioned · julep · pestle · bitters · sugar · herbs · caipirinha · smashing
coping
Managing under strain
- managingDirecting or controlling something
- strugglingExperiencing serious difficulty
- perseveringMaintaining effort despite difficulty
enduring · plodding · trudging · improvising · winging-it · surviving · weathering · persisting
interfering
Intruding in others' affairs
- tamperingImproper interference with something
- tinkeringCasual, unskilled adjusting
- fiddlingAimless, restless manipulation
messing · prying · intruding · busybody · snooping · nosiness · overstepping · encroaching · buttinsky · kibitzer
- barbartender, bartending, mixologist, mixology, bar stool
- bar culturebar counter, bar tab, bar tabs, bar stools, bar rail
- confusing actionsmisleading, misdirecting, obfuscating, garbling, scrambling
- drinkmakingbrewing, distilling, mixology, bartending, cocktail mixing
- mixingmix, stir, blend, shake, combine
- Mixologycocktails, mixology, cocktail recipes, classic cocktails, craft cocktails
muddlingclarifying
Making something understandable
enlightening · elucidating · illuminating · explaining · demystifying
muddlingordering
Placing in sequence
organizing · arranging · systematizing · structuring · sorting
muddlingmastering
Attaining full command
excelling · perfecting · nailing · acing · accomplishing
- muddling alongManaging without clear direction
- muddling throughProceeding despite confusion
muddle, muddled, muddles, muddle up, muddler, muddle through