Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2008 November 22

= November 22 =

Clear as Mud
What does this mean? I think it means confusing and unclear, but I had a drama teacher who would say "Clear as mud?" and be basically asking whether what he said was clear. Vltava 68 (talk  contribs ) 03:03, 22 November 2008 (UTC)


 * Sounds like the sort of person who can't say anything plainly but has to spin it out into an allusion, even if it's a malaprop. —Tamfang (talk) 03:48, 22 November 2008 (UTC)


 * "Clear as mud" is the same as "clear as crystal", except it means not clear at all. Your drama teacher was asking whether what s/he'd said was unclear. It's a bit like ending a sentence with "..., No?" As in, "The sky is cloudy, no?" It's asking for disagreement if there is any. Black Carrot (talk) 04:55, 22 November 2008 (UTC)


 * Except the "right" answer was "yes" to that question. Or maybe it's like that acting superstition about opposites. Vltava 68  (talk  contribs ) 06:23, 22 November 2008 (UTC)


 * As Harry Belafonte sang about an explanation, "It was clear as mud, but it covered the ground." My take on the drama teacher's remark is that it was a bit of self-mockery.  He gave an explanation and said, in effect, "That was probably not as clear as it could be, and I know it, so let me know if you're confused, though I don't think you are."  --- OtherDave (talk) 14:36, 22 November 2008 (UTC)
 * I always interpreted "clear as mud" as one of those phrases like "you dropped your pocket" or "your fly's up." The expectation with an utterance "clear as X" is for X to be something that is tangibly transparent(such as glass, water, air, or cellophane); making X into something that is not transparent violates the expectations and a response of affirmation when the referent actually is metaphorically clear is supposed to indicate that the responder has been tricked.  This is supposed to be humorous but since it's often done by instructors of sarcastic teenagers, no one laughs except the instructor themself.  — Æµ§œš¹  [aɪm ˈfɻɛ̃ⁿdˡi]  01:36, 24 November 2008 (UTC)