muddle 
3. A kind of chowder; a pottle made with 
crackers. Bee pottle, '2 Mush muddle. See 
inunh 1 . 
muddlehead (mtid'l-hed), n. A confused or 
: !ii|ncl person; a blockhead. 
Miuiktml are imt waiting in intelligence ; but, as a body, 
they huveone iiitcllectuiil defect they are muddle-headg. 
C. Jleade, Never too Late to Mend, vi. (Done*.) 
muddle-headed (mud'l-hed'ed), a. Having 
the liruins muddled; stupidly confused or dull ; 
doltish: the opposite of clcar-lit-mtnl. 
What a precious muddle-headed chap you are ! 
Dickenn, Oliver Twist, xxx. 
muddle-headedness (inud'1-hed'ed-nes), n. 
The quality of being muddle-headed; confu- 
sion; want of clearness of thought. 
Such is the muddle-headedneesot modem English spell- 
ing, which seems to lie almost worshipped (or its Incon- 
sistencies. W. W. Skeat, N. and lj., Bth ser., IX. 3i. 
muddler (mud'ler), n. A chnrning-stick for 
muddling chocolate or for mixing toddies. 
mud-drag (mud ' drag), . An implement or a 
machine for clearing rivers and docks ; a hedge- 
hog. See hedgehog, 4. 
mud-dredger (mu'd'drej'er), n. A dredging- 
machine. 
mud-drum (mud'drum), . A chamber placed 
below the steam-generating part of a steam- 
boiler, and communicating by an upper and 
a lower passage or passages with the water- 
space in the boiler. It Is usually of cylindrical form 
(whence the name drum), and its function is to collect the 
sand or earthy matters deposited from the water which 
is fed to the boiler. The foreign substances so collect- 
ed are removed from the mud-drum through hand-holes 
In It. 
muddy (mud'i), . [= MLG. moddich, muddich, 
LG. muddig = G. mottig = Sw. moddig; as mud 
+ -J 1 .] 1. Abounding in, covered with, or con- 
taining mud: foul with mud; turbid, as water 
or other fluids ; miry. 
The true fountains of science out of which both painters 
and statuaries are bound to draw, . . . without amusing 
themselves withdipping in streams which are often muddy, 
at least troubled : I mean the manner of their masters after 
whom they creep. 
Dryden, On Du Freeuoy's Art of Painting. 
2. Consisting of mud or earth; hence, gross; 
impure; vile. 
Such harmony Is in immortal souls ; 
But whilst this muddy vesture of decay 
Doth grossly close it In. we cannot hear it. 
Shak., M. of V., v. 1. 64. 
8. Not clear or pure in color: as, a muddy 
green ; a muddy complexion. 4. Cloudy in 
mind; confused; dull; heavy; stupid. 
Dost think I am so muddy, so unsettled. 
To appoint myself in this vexation? 
Shak., W. T., i. 2. 828. 
5. Obscure; wanting in clearness or perspicu- 
ity: as, a muddy style of writing, 
muddy (mud'i), v. t.; pret. and pp. muddied, 
ppr. muddying. [< muddy, a.] 1. To soil with 
mud ; dirty. 
Here is a purr of fortune's, sir, or of fortune's cat, that 
has fallen into the unclean fishpond of her displeasure, 
and ... Is muddied withal. Shak., All's Well, v. 2. 23. 
2. To cloud; make dull or heavy. 
Excess . . . uniil/lies the best wit, and makes it only to 
flutter and froth high. N. Oreie, Cosmologia Sacra. 
muddy-brained (mud'i-brand), a. Dull of ap- 
prehension; stupid. 
O, the toil 
Of humouring this abject scum of mankind, 
Muddv-brain'd peasants ! 
Ford, Perkln Warbeck, II. 3. 
muddybreast (mud'i-brest), n. The American 
golden plover, Charadrius dominicus, in the 
transition stage of its plumage. G. Trumbull. 
muddy-headed (mud'i-hed*ed), a. Having a 
dull understanding; muddy-brained; muddle- 
headed. 
Many boys are muddy-headed till they be clarified with 
age. Fuller, Holy State, p. 100. 
muddying (mud'i-ing), n. [Verbal n. of mud- 
di/. t: ] A mode of fishing in which attendants 
stir up the muddy bottom of a lake or stream. 
[Southern U. S.] 
As soon as the heat of summer has thoroughly warmed 
the waters of these lakes, and has somewhat reduced their 
volume, the season for muddying begins. 
Sportsman's Gazetteer, p. 371. 
muddy-mettled (mud'i -met 'Id), a. Dull- 
spirited. 
A dull and muddy-mettled rascal. 
Shalt., Hamlet, U. 2. 594. 
mud-eel (mud'el), n. 1. A long slender sala- 
mander which lives in the mud, as s/rrit /uor- 
tina or ttltrmopgit tridiirlylti. Also called /;/- 
i/. See <i.nilt>tl. 2. An eel of any kind; 
liss? 
especially, in New England, a yellow-bellied 
sluggish variety of the common eel, found in 
muddy water. 
mudfish (mud'fish), n. A fish which lives or 
burrows in the mud. Specifically (a) A dlpnoui fish, 
I'rotopterus annectenf, of the family Lepidosirenidce. (b) 
Mudfish (Prot&fterui anntctttu). 
The Australian Ceratodus Jmtteri. (c) The North Ameri- 
can bowftn, Atnia calm. Also called marnh fmh. (d) s<nm; 
or any species of the genus Umbra or family IJmbridcc. 
Also called mud-minnow. (e) A former Anglo-American 
name In New York of a kllllflsh. Schoep/. (/) A gobilne 
fish, GUlichthus mirabilis, remarkable for the great exten- 
sion backward of the maxillary bones. It attains a lejigth 
of 6 Inches, and burrows in the mud between tide-marks, 
so that Its burrow is exposed at low tide. It abounds along 
the coast of California. (</) A New Zealand fish of the fam- 
ily Galaxiitlce; the Neochanna apoda. P. L. Sdater. (See 
cuts under Amiidce, Lepidosiren, Umbra, and (rillieltihyt.) 
mud-flat (mud'flat), H. Amuddy low-lying strip 
of ground by the shore, or an island, usually 
submerged more or less completely by the rise 
of the tide. 
mud-frog (mud'frog), n. A European frog of 
the family Pelobatidas, Pelobates ftiseus. 
mud-goose (raud'g8s) ; . Hutchins's goose, 
liemicla hutehinsi, of wide distribution in North 
America. It closely resembles the common wild or 
Canada goose, but is smaller and has fewer tall-feathers. 
./. /'. Oiraud. [Long Island, New York.] 
mud-hen (mud'hen), H. 1. The common gal- 
linule, Gallinula galeata. [Local, U. 8.] Also 
mud-pullet. [Florida.] 2. The American coot, 
Fuliea americana. 3. Same as marsh-hen (b). 
4. A bivalve mollusk of the family J'enerida; 
and genus Tapes. It is common along the Eu- 
ropean coasts on sandy bottoms near low-water 
mark. See hen, n., 4. 
mud-hole (mud'hol), . 1. A place full of 
mud ; a spot where there is mud of consider- 
able depth; a depression where water and mud 
stand, as in a road. 
All in ml/mil's of course should be filled promptly at all 
times, so that no water may stand in the road. 
The Century, XXXVIII. 956. 
2. In steam-engines, an orifice with steam- 
tight covering in the bottom of a boiler, through 
which the sediment is removed. Also mud- 
valve. 3. A salt-water lagoon in which whales 
are captured. [Whalers' slang, California.] 
mud-hook (mud'huk), . An anchor. [Slang.] 
mudiet, a. An obsolete spelling of moody. 
mudir (mo-der'), . [Also moodir; Ar. (> Turk.) 
mudir, a manager, director, administrator, etc., 
< adir, manage, inspect.] An administrator. 
Specifically (a) In Turkey, the head of a "kasa," or can- 
ton. (6) In Egypt, the governor of a district called a mu- 
dirieh, or province. 
mud-laff (mud'laf), n. Same as laff'*. 
mud-lamprey (mud'lam'pri). n. The young 
of the sandpride, Petromyson branchialis. 
mud-lark (mud'liirk),. 1. A man who cleans 
out common sewers, or any one who fishes up 
small articles from the mud on the strands of 
tidal rivers. [Slang.] 
The mud-larks collect whatever they happen to find, such 
as coals, bits of old iron, rope, bones, and copper nails that 
drop from ships while lying or repairing along shore. 
Maiiheic, London Labour and London Poor, II. 173. 
2. A neglected or deserted child, who is allowed 
to run and play about the streets, picking up his 
living and his training anyhow ; a street Arab ; 
a gamin. 3. A kind of pipit, Anthus. Encyc. 
Brit., XIV. 317. 
mud-lava (mud'la'vft), . Same as moya. 
mud-minnow (mud'min'o), n. Same aa mud- 
Jish (d). See Umlirida;. 
mud-plantain (mud'plan'tan), . See Heteran- 
thera. 
mud-plug (mud'plug), n. In steam-engines, a 
tapered screw-plug for filling a mud-hole. 
mud-puppy (mud'pup'i), . See hellbender, and 
mud-t'fl. 1. 
mud-rake (mud'rak), n. Oyster-tongs with long 
poles or handles. [New Jersey.] 
mud-scow (mud'skou), n. A flatboat or barge 
for the transportation of mud, generally used in 
connection with dredges. 
mud-shad (mud'shad), n. A fish of the family 
Dorttaiiniiilii , Dorosoma cepedianum. It has a su- 
perflcial resemblance to the shad. The snout is projecting 
and blunt; the mouth Is small, inferior, and oblique; the 
maxillary bones are narrow, short, and simple ; and the 
lower jaw is short, deep, and enlarged backward. It is 
very abundant in many parts of the United States, espe- 
cially southward. It has many other names, as trinter-shad, 
muezzin 
itinlc-ihad, hairy-bode or thread-herring (in North Carolina), 
and on tin- St. John's river ffizzard-tihad or u-hite-etjfd nhad. 
See cut under ffiaard-shad. 
mudsill (mud'sil), n. 1. The lowest sill of a 
structure, resting on the ground. 2. A low- 
born, ignorant, contemptible person. [U. S.] 
The term mud-frill is supposed to be used contemptu- 
ously in the Southern States to designate the lowest rank 
of the people : those who use nothing and have nothing to 
use but muscle for their maintenance; men who an im 
educated and indifferent to education ; men without other 
aspiration or ambition than that which incites them Ui ap- 
pease their hunger and to ward off the blasts of winter. 
Pop. Set. Mo., XXVI. 39. 
mud-snail (mud'snal), n. Same as pond-snail. 
mud-snipe (mud'snip), n. The American wood- 
cock, I'nilohcla minor. [Local, U. 8.] 
mudstone (mud'stpu), n. A fine argillaceous 
rock, often containing more or less sand, some- 
what harder than clay, and destitute of any 
distinct lamination. [Rare.] 
mud-sucker (mud'suk"er), n. 1. An aquatic 
fowl which obtains its food from mud. 
In all water-fowl . . . their legs and feet correspond to 
that way of life [swimming] ; and in inud-gucker* two of the 
toes are somewhat joined that they may not easily sink. 
Derltam, Physlco-Theology, vli. 1, note w. 
2. A catostcmoid fish. See sucker. 
mud-swallow (mud'swoKo), n. The cliff-swal- 
low or eaves-swallow, Petrochelidon lunifronx, 
which builds its nest of pellets of mud. See cut 
under caves-swalloic. 
mud-teal (mud'tel), n. See greemoing. 
mud-tortoise (mud'tdr'tis), n. Same as mud- 
turtle. 
mud-turtle (mud'ter'tl), n. A name given in 
the United States to various turtles which live 
in the mud or muddy water, as species of Tri- 
onychidce and Emydid<e. 
mud-valve (mud'valv), n. Same as mud-hole, 2. 
mud-volcano (mud'vol-ka'no), n. A conical 
hill or miniature volcano surrounding an orifice 
or crater, and the result of the pressure and es- 
cape from below of steam or gases, given out 
either continuously or at intervals. Such accu- 
mulations of mud are not uncommon in regions of dying- 
out volcanism, the material being the result of the soften- 
ing and decomposition of the lava or ashes by solfataric 
agencies. Somewhat similar mud-cones or mud-volca- 
noes sometimes occur in regions not volcanic, where they 
appear to be caused by the combustion of sulphur or of 
coal. 
mud-walled (mud'wald), a. Having a wall of 
mud, or of materials laid in mud instead of mor- 
tar. 
Folks from llud-uvtt'd Tenement 
Bring Landlords Pepper-Corn for Rent ; 
Present a Turkey, or a Hen, 
To those might better spare them ten. 
Prior, To Fleetwood Shepherd, I. 19. 
mud-wasp (mud'wosp), n. Same as dauber (e), 
mudweed (mud' wed), . Same as mudu-ort. 
mud-worm (mud'werm), n. A worm that lives 
in the mud, as a lugworm; specifically, one of 
the Limieolte. 
mudwort (mud'wert), n. A plant, LimoneVa 
aquatica. Also called mudvceed. 
muet, v. t. An obsolete spelling of mete 3 . 
Muehlenbergia (mu-len-ber'ji-fi), . [NL. 
(Von Schreber, 1789), named after Rev. G. H. 
E. Muehlenberg, an eminent botanist of Penn- 
sylvania, 1753-1815.] A genus of grasses of the 
tribe Agrostidea;, known l>y its capillary awns, 
small spikelets, and grain tightly invested by 
the delicate glume. About ao species are known, 
mostly of North America or the Andes, and a few In Asia. 
They are low grasses, sometimes forming a turf, with many- 
paniclcd flowers. On account of the early deciduous seed 
these grasses are called droptetd, especially M. diffuxa 
(also called nimble-will). II. capillaris, an extremely deli- 
cate species, shares with various other grasses the name 
of hair.yraw. The species have no marked agricultural 
worth. 
Muellerian, a. See JUiillerian. 
muermo (m8-er'mo), n. [Chilian.] A fine rosa- 
ceous tree of Chili, Eutryphia cordifolia. It 
reaches a height of 100 feet. IU wood Is preferred to all 
other In Chill for rudders and oars. Also called ulmo. 
muett, n. A Middle English form of mute* . 
muezzin (mu-ez'in), . [Formerly also mued- 
din, nmetdiii; < Ar. muezzin, miiazan (prop. 
muedlidhin), a public crier who calls to prayer, 
< HIM-, formative prefix, + 'azzana, inform (cf. 
'azan, the call to prayer, 'uzn, the ear), < 'azautt, 
hear. The consonant here represented by z is 
dltdl, prop, pronounced like th in E. this, but in 
Turk., Pers., etc., like E. z.~\ In Mohammedan 
countries, a crier who proclaims from the min- 
aret of a mosque (when the mosque has one, 
otherwise from the side of the mosque) the 
regular hours of prayer. These hours are dawn, 
noon, four o'clock in the afternoon, sunset, and 
nightfall. 
