mud sticks
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Unfounded criticism or slander can permanently damage someone's reputation
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Lời chỉ trích hoặc vu khống không căn cứ có thể gây hại lâu dài cho danh tiếng
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: mud that sticks to an object
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Sources & notes
Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “mud sticks” mean?
Unfounded criticism or slander can permanently damage someone's reputation Literally: mud that sticks to an object
Is “mud sticks” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.