clear as mud

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clear as mud

Where it comes from

Blend of clear as day + mud. Compare muddy (“unclear, blurry”).

adjective

not comparable, sarcastic Unclear; difficult or impossible to understand or interpret. Near-synonyms: muddied, muddy, muddled, muddle-headed
Similar: muddied, muddy, muddled, muddle-headed · Opposite: clear as day, apparent, arrant, undoubted, glaring, bait, blatant, clear, clear as a bell, clear cut, conspicuous, crystal clear

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MLA

"clear as mud." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/clear%20as%20mud. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

clear as mud. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/clear%20as%20mud

Chicago

"clear as mud." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/clear%20as%20mud.

BibTeX

@misc{clear_as_mud_2026,
  title = {clear as mud},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/clear%20as%20mud},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}