drag through the mud
To tarnish or spoil enough so that something or someone is no longer respectable.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“The scandal dragged his reputation through the mud.”
“The newspaper article dragged the politician's name through the mud by focusing only on his past mistakes.”
“By publicly accusing her former partner of dishonesty, she effectively dragged his character through the mud, leaving his professional standing in ruins.”
- 01
drag ass
To move slowly, or lag behind.
- 02
drag on
To last too long.
- 03
drag one's balls across
To exert extreme, often aggressive, power or control over; dominate.
- 04
drag one's feet
To procrastinate, put off; to dawdle, avoid, or make progress slowly and reluctantly.
- 05
drag the chain
To fall behind relative to others.
- 06
happy as a pig in mud
Very happy or content.
- 07
look what the cat's dragged in
Used as an ironic acknowledgement of someone's arrival, either jocularly or to imply that they are unwelcome or disagreeable in some way.
- 08
mud fence
Something proverbially unattractive or ugly.
Last updated August 10, 2026