muddy waters
Silty, obscured stream
Muddy waters describes a situation made unclear or confusing, often deliberately.
To muddy the waters is to complicate something that was straightforward, obscuring the truth or making decisions harder: The new evidence only muddied the waters further.
The phrase evokes sediment stirred up from a riverbed, turning clear water opaque.
- murkyDark and unclear
- turbidClouded by particles
- stir upCause to arise
- swampWaterlogged land with vegetation
- deltaSymbol denoting variation
delta blues · blues · electric blues · Mississippi · guitar · singer · silty · clouded · opaque · bayou · river · unclear · confusion · ambiguity · marsh · sediment · stirred · brackish
- Weather Idiomsunder the weather, when it rains it pours, come rain or shine, rain check, take a rain check
- dismissingbrush aside, brush off, wave off, shrug off, blow off
- meddlingmeddle, meddler, butt in, horn in, intrude
- catfishingtrotline, channel catfish, circle hook, stink bait, chicken liver
muddy watersclear water
Uncontaminated, transparent liquid
pristine waters · pure water · clean water · sparkling water · spring water
muddy waterscrystal clear
Entirely unambiguous, perfectly understood
clarity · clear picture · transparency · clear-cut · straightforward
muddy watersPat Boone
Perry Como · easy listening · smooth jazz · muzak · elevator music
muddy, waters, water, muddied, muddying, muddiness, watery, watered, watering