muddle
/ˈmʌd.əl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈmʌd.əl/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈmə-dᵊl/ (ame, mw) · /ˈmʌdl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈmʌdl/ (ame, ipa)
muddle — 名詞
1. a situation where things are in disorder or arranged untidily, so it is difficul
雜亂；混亂
物品擺放雜亂、難以使用的狀態
a situation where things are in disorder or arranged untidily, so it is difficult to use, find, or understand them
Esme's tax papers were in a complete muddle on the kitchen table.
Esme 的報稅資料在廚房桌上亂成一團。
in a muddle for disordered things
After the move, the boxes of books had become a real muddle in the spare room.
搬完家後，書箱在客房裡變得一團雜亂。
become a muddle for piling up over time
The filing cabinet was such a muddle that Eli could not find last year's invoices.
檔案櫃太雜亂，Eli 怎麼找都找不到去年的發票。
Daichi sorted out the muddle of cables behind the television.
Daichi 把電視後面那堆雜亂的線材整理好。
- order
tidy arrangement
文法句型
in a muddle
get into a muddle
用法筆記
Subject is usually concrete objects or papers, not abstract concepts. Often appears with 'in a' or 'into a', describing the physical state of items rather than someone's mental state — that is sense 2.
常見錯誤
2. a state of being confused in your thinking, especially when you mix up separate
迷糊；昏亂
腦中把資訊弄混的迷糊狀態
a state of being confused in your thinking, especially when you mix up separate facts or details in your head
Christopher always gets into a muddle when he tries to count the change in euros.
Christopher 用歐元算零錢時總是搞得一頭霧水。
get into a muddle over numbers / unfamiliar systems
Nila was in such a muddle about the train times that she went to the wrong station.
Nila 把火車時刻搞得一團亂，最後跑錯車站。
in a muddle about for confusion over schedules
Andrés got into a muddle over which patient was due for which medicine.
Andrés 把哪位病人該吃哪種藥都搞混了。
Mira realised halfway through her speech that she was in a muddle about the dates of the war.
Mira 演講講到一半，才發現自己把戰爭的年代記錯了。
- clarity
clear understanding
文法句型
get into a muddle about/over
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: here the muddle is inside the person's mind, not in the physical world. Usually paired with 'about' or 'over' followed by the topic of confusion.
muddle — 動詞
- muddlepresent simple I / you / we / they
- muddleshe / she / it
- muddledpast simple
- muddling-ing form
1. to present an issue, argument, or set of facts in a way that makes it harder to
把…弄不清
把議題或論點講得更難懂
to present an issue, argument, or set of facts in a way that makes it harder to understand rather than clearer
Dario kept interrupting the lawyer, which only muddled the main point of the case.
Dario 一直打斷律師，反而把案件的重點弄得不清不楚。
muddle + the point for clouding an argument
The new map muddled the directions to the village instead of making them simpler.
新地圖反而把通往村莊的方向弄得更亂，不是更簡單。
Élise's long introduction muddled the question the audience had come to hear answered.
Élise 冗長的開場白把觀眾本來想聽的問題講糊了。
Adding too many examples can muddle a clear definition.
舉太多例子反而會把原本清楚的定義弄模糊。
- clarify
make something clearer
文法句型
muddle + noun (issue/argument/facts)
用法筆記
Object is usually an abstract noun like 'issue', 'argument', 'point', or 'directions'. Distinguish from sense 2, where the object is a person whose mind becomes confused.
常見錯誤
2. to make a person unable to think clearly, usually by giving them too much inform
把…弄糊塗
讓某人腦袋一時無法思考清楚
to make a person unable to think clearly, usually by giving them too much information at once or contradicting yourself
All the new staff names muddled Rachid on his first morning at the hospital.
醫院第一天的新同事名字全把 Rachid 搞糊塗了。
The salesman's rapid talk completely muddled Lan when she tried to choose a phone plan.
業務員講話太快，Lan 在選電信方案時被弄得完全糊塗。
muddle + person + when for cause of confusion
Don't muddle the children with three sets of instructions before bedtime.
睡前不要連給孩子三組指令，會把他們搞糊塗。
Two glasses of wine had muddled Mark, and he repeated the same story twice.
兩杯紅酒已經讓 Mark 有點糊塗，同一個故事講了兩次。
- guide
help someone understand
文法句型
muddle + person
用法筆記
Object is always a person (or group of people). Distinguish from sense 1 where the object is an abstract idea. Frequently appears in negative imperatives — 'don't muddle me' is a common spoken phrase.
3. to arrange items wrongly, putting one where another should go, or to mistake one
搞混；弄錯
把不同物品或名稱張冠李戴
to arrange items wrongly, putting one where another should go, or to mistake one thing for another because of how similar they look or sound
Lauren muddled the twins' birthday cards and gave Sofia's to Lucia.
Lauren 把雙胞胎的生日卡搞混，把 Sofia 的卡片給了 Lucia。
muddle + plural noun for mixing items between people
Rafael warned the new student not to muddle the test tubes before the chemistry experiment.
Rafael 提醒新來的學生，化學實驗前不要把試管的順序搞混。
Mei always muddles the Spanish words for 'bread' and 'meat' when she orders.
Mei 點餐時總是把西班牙文的「麵包」和「肉」搞混。
The librarian had muddled the children's books with the cookery section.
圖書館員把童書和食譜區的書放混了。
- sort
put items in correct groups
文法句型
muddle + plural noun
muddle A and B / muddle A with B
muddle + noun + up
用法筆記
Object is usually a plural noun or two items joined by 'and' or 'with'. Often refers to items that are externally similar (twins, test tubes, words). Distinguish from sense 1 (the muddled thing is abstract) and sense 2 (the muddled thing is a person).
常見錯誤
4. in cocktail making, to press fruit, herbs, or sugar gently against the bottom of
搗壓（調酒）
把果香或香草壓進雞尾酒杯底
in cocktail making, to press fruit, herbs, or sugar gently against the bottom of a glass to release their flavour and oils into the drink
The bartender muddled fresh mint leaves at the bottom of the glass before adding the rum.
調酒師在加入蘭姆酒前，先把新鮮薄荷葉搗在杯底。
muddle + fruit/herb noun in cocktail context
Mert muddled half a lime with brown sugar to make a caipirinha for the guests.
Mert 把半顆萊姆和黃糖搗在一起，為客人調了一杯卡琵莉亞。
Press, do not pound, when you muddle the strawberries — the seeds turn bitter if crushed.
搗草莓時要用按壓的，不要用力搥——種籽壓碎會變苦。
Mayumi muddled the basil leaves with a wooden stick to bring out the oils.
Mayumi 用木棒把羅勒葉輕輕搗壓，讓香氣釋放出來。
文法句型
muddle + fruit/herb noun
用法筆記
Strictly used in the context of drink preparation. Object is fruit, herbs, or sugar. The action is a gentle press, not a hard pounding — that nuance is part of the bartending sense.