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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

one's name is mud en · X

Etymology

Ultimate origin unknown. Popularly attributed to Dr. Samuel Mudd's assistance to the assassin of president Abe Lincoln, but an older print dictionary already lists the phrase.

Meanings

  1. (idiomatic, informal) One is unpopular, in disgrace or embroiled in scandal; one's reputation is tarnished.
    • Thanks to disastrously unpopular attempts by the likes of BuzzFeed to create AI-assisted content, its name is mud in the media industry. 2023 November 21, Zing Tsjeng, “AI is changing the world – and I’ve just eaten the underwhelming pasta that proves it”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
    • My name is Mud / Not to be confused with Bill, or Jack, or Pete, or Dennis / My name is Mud, it's always been / 'Cause I'm the most boring sonsabitch you've ever seen / I dress in blue, yes, navy blue from head to toe / I'm rather drab, except my patent shoes / I make 'em shine, well, most the time 1993, “My Name is Mud”, performed by Primus:
    • His name will be mud once people learn the truth about why he was fired.

wikipedia: Samuel Mudd