muddy the waters

Idioms and Phrases

Confuse the issue, as in Bringing up one irrelevant fact after another, he succeeded in muddying the waters . This metaphoric expression, alluding to making a pond or stream turbid by stirring up mud from the bottom, was first recorded in 1837.

Example Sentences

And now, at the eleventh hour, a shadowy group is barging in to muddy the waters even further.

From Slate

Many presidents in the past half-century have remarked, toward the end of their terms in office, that the country has just “one president at a time,” and that it would muddy the waters—and could even undermine U.S. policy—if an election’s winner started acting as if he were already in power during the two-and-a-half months before Inauguration Day.

From Slate

I think this really shows how powerful it can be to muddy the waters and to chill people from participating in direct democracy.

From Slate

No doubt, the biggest prize is a chance to muddy the waters, when it comes to who is responsible for the rising tide of political violence in the U.S. today.

From Salon

Ms. Bauer said that the term “advanced birth centers” — so similar to the birthing centers run primarily by midwives — would muddy the waters for patients.

From New York Times

Related Words

• belie
• blind
• block out
• blur
• camouflage
• cloud
• confuse
• cover
• cover up
• darken
• dim
• disguise
• eclipse
• mask
• misrepresent
• muddy
• overshadow
• shroud
• veil