muddy the waters
Cloud the issue
To muddy the waters is to make a situation more confusing or unclear, often deliberately.
The image is of stirring up sediment that clouds what was once transparent: The company's PR team muddied the waters with contradictory statements.
Someone muddies the waters to obscure facts, deflect blame, or prevent clear understanding.
- complicateMake more difficult
- confuseCause mental disorientation
- obfuscateMake unclear intentionally
- fogLow-lying cloud cover
- smoke and mirrorsDeceptive obfuscation tactics
gaslighting · cloud · disinformation · blur · equivocation · disguise · muddle · murkiness · misdirection · cover your tracks · dissemble · smokescreen · obscure · subterfuge · bait and switch · mystify · perplex · misunderstanding
- fishing idiomshook line and sinker, the one that got away, fishing for compliments, fish or cut bait, bigger fish to fry
- meddlingmeddle, meddler, butt in, horn in, intrude
muddy the watersclarify
Make something understandable
clear up · elucidate · illuminate · shed light on · make clear
muddy the watersget to the point
Speak directly now
set the record straight · lay bare · come clean · put one's cards on the table · sort out
muddy the waterscome clean
Admit the full truth
lay one's cards on the table · speak plainly · tell it like it is · cut to the chase · level with
muddy, muddied, muddying, muds, muddiness, water, waters, watered, watering