muddle 英 [ˈmʌdl] 美 [ˈmʌdl]

IELTS SAT TEM8

外刊例句

  • America has grown healthily and the rest of the world has muddled along.
    美国经济健康增长,世界其他地区也还算过得去。
    ——《经济学人》
  • Yes, Southern Europe is experiencing an economic crisis thanks to that money muddle.
    是的,由于货币引发的混乱,欧洲南部正在经历经济危机。
    ——《纽约时报》

基本释义

[verb] bring into a disordered or confusing state
[动词] 使陷入混乱或令人费解的状态

深入解读

看到 muddle 一词,小站的老铁们应该不难想起差不多一年前推过的 小词详解 | meddle ,这两个单词不仅形似,而且含义也稍稍有些接近。别第一眼觉得 muddle 很陌生,其实它可能衍生自英语单词 mud (烂泥、泥浆、淤泥),也可能直接源自中古荷兰语 moddelen (使水等浑浊),其基本含义即像把水弄浑一样“弄乱、搅浑”,多指将事物以错误的顺序弄乱或混淆,比如:

  • 别动——你会弄乱我的文件的。我可是花了好长时间才整理好的。
    Don’t do that─you’re muddling my papers. It took me a long time to collate them.
  • 他们神秘隐晦的情书都乱七八糟地放在一个抽屉里。
    Their cryptic love letters were all muddled up together in a drawer.

这个概念也可以用在人身上,把脑袋弄乱,即表示“使困惑、使糊涂”,以及指酒、麻醉药等“使烂醉、使昏昏沉沉”,比如:

  • 说慢点儿——你都把我搞糊涂了。我真搞不懂你在说什么。
    Slow down a little─you’re muddling me. I really couldn’t fathom what you are talking about.
  • 那男人醉醺醺地踉跄着走出了酒吧。他喝了两杯就醉了。
    The man lurched drunkenly out of the pub. Two drinks muddled him.

东西弄混之后或者脑袋乱了之后,就容易分不清两个比较相似的人或物以至于不知道哪个是哪个,这可以用 muddle sb/sth (up) 或 muddle A (up) with B 表示某人“混淆、搅浑、分不清”,比如:

  • 我搞错了日期,早到了一个星期。
    I muddled the dates and arrived a week early.

虽然混乱不是件好事,但有时候我们在缺乏相应的知识、信息、设备等时,甚至都不知道自己在干什么,也要蒙混过关达成目标,这就可以用 muddle through 表示“胡乱应付过去”,与小站之前在 小词详解 | brazen 中提到的 brazen it/sth out (厚着脸皮硬挺过去)有些近义,比如:

  • 你不必为这事吵吵嚷嚷。我们能想办法应付过去。
    You don’t have to be blatant about it. We’ll muddle through somehow.
  • 显然媒体已被封了口,因为什么都没有报道。现在我们能做的顶多就是设法保持冷静,蒙混过关。
    The media has obviously been gagged because nothing has been reported. The best we can do now is try to stay cool and muddle through.

而在英式英语中还有一种混法叫 muddle along ,指的是“混日子、得过且过”,比如:

  • 我们不能就这样混日子。我们必须设法摆脱贫困的煎熬。
    We can’t just keep muddling along like this. We must contrive a way to escape the grinding poverty.

用作名词时, muddle 除了自然表示“糊涂、困惑、茫然”以及“混乱、乱七八糟”外,也可以用 muddle about/over sth 表示局面“一团糟、混乱”,比如:

  • 我曾在一家戏院兼职当引座员。那里的戏票管理问题一团糟。
    I did part-time work as an usher in a theatre. There was a muddle over the theatre tickets.

双语名著

Bagovut, a sturdy old general of placid disposition, had been worried too by all the delays, the muddles, and the contradictory orders, and, to the amazement of everybody, he flew into a violent rage, quite out of keeping with his character, and said some very nasty things to Toll.
巴戈乌特是一个文静的、能征善战的老将军,他也因为一路拖延、混乱和错误百出被搞得筋疲力竭,令人惊讶的是,他一反平日的温文尔雅,大发雷霆,他对托尔说了许多难听的话。

出自俄国作家列夫·托尔斯泰( Leo Tolstoy)创作的长篇小说《战争与和平》(War and Peace)。本书于1865年到1869年出版,讲述欧洲拿破仑时期俄罗斯所发生的事。《战争与和平》自从问世以来,一直被认为是世界上最伟大的小说之一。

常见短语

muddle” 是一个英语词汇,通常用来表示混乱、困惑等意思。以下是与这个词相关的 50 个短语,附带中文解释:

  1. muddle through – 勉强应付
  2. muddle-headed – 糊涂的
  3. muddle of emotions – 情感混乱
  4. muddle in paperwork – 文件混乱
  5. muddle of thoughts – 思绪混乱
  6. muddle of ideas – 想法混乱
  7. muddle of opinions – 观点混乱
  8. muddle up facts – 混淆事实
  9. muddle of details – 细节混乱
  10. muddle of memories – 记忆混乱
  11. muddle of tasks – 任务混乱
  12. muddle in conversation – 对话混乱
  13. muddle of decisions – 决策混乱
  14. muddle of feelings – 感情混乱
  15. muddle in relationships – 关系混乱
  16. muddle of instructions – 指示混乱
  17. muddle of plans – 计划混乱
  18. muddle in explanations – 解释混乱
  19. muddle of schedules – 日程混乱
  20. muddle in the kitchen – 厨房混乱
  21. muddle in organization – 组织混乱
  22. muddle of words – 词语混乱
  23. muddle in the workspace – 工作空间混乱
  24. muddle up priorities – 混淆优先事项
  25. muddle of directions – 方向混乱
  26. muddle in decision-making – 决策混乱
  27. muddle of information – 信息混乱
  28. muddle of files – 文件混乱
  29. muddle up plans – 扰乱计划
  30. muddle in learning – 学习混乱
  31. muddle of data – 数据混乱
  32. muddle in time management – 时间管理混乱
  33. muddle of colors – 颜色混乱
  34. muddle of intentions – 意图混乱
  35. muddle in procedures – 流程混乱
  36. muddle of priorities – 优先事项混乱
  37. muddle of accounts – 账户混乱
  38. muddle up projects – 弄乱项目
  39. muddle in communication – 沟通混乱
  40. muddle of options – 选择混乱
  41. muddle up arrangements – 弄乱安排
  42. muddle of goals – 目标混乱
  43. muddle in the classroom – 教室混乱
  44. muddle of procedures – 流程混乱
  45. muddle up instructions – 混淆指示
  46. muddle of appointments – 约会混乱
  47. muddle in presentation – 演示混乱
  48. muddle of concepts – 概念混乱
  49. muddle in financial matters – 财务事务混乱
  50. muddle of documents – 文件混乱

同近义词

  • jumble: mix up in a confused or untidy way
  • disarrange: make (something) untidy or disordered
  • scramble: make (something) jumbled or muddled
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