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Muddle vs Miss - What's the difference?

muddle | miss |

As nouns the difference between muddle and miss

is that muddle is a mixture; a confusion; a garble while miss is form of address for an unmarried woman.

As a verb muddle

is to mix together, to mix up; to confuse.

muddle

English

Verb

(muddl)
  • To mix together, to mix up; to confuse.
  • Young children tend to muddle their words.
  • To mash slightly for use in a cocktail.
  • He muddled the mint sprigs in the bottom of the glass.
  • To dabble in mud.
  • (Jonathan Swift)
  • To make turbid or muddy.
  • * L'Estrange
  • He did ill to muddle the water.
  • To think and act in a confused, aimless way.
  • To cloud or stupefy; to render stupid with liquor; to intoxicate partially.
  • * Bentley
  • Their old master Epicurus seems to have had his brains so muddled and confounded with them, that he scarce ever kept in the right way.
  • * Arbuthnot
  • often drunk, always muddled
  • To waste or misuse, as one does who is stupid or intoxicated.
  • * Hazlitt
  • They muddle it [money] away without method or object, and without having anything to show for it.

    Derived terms

    * muddler (agent noun) * muddle along * muddle through * muddle up

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A mixture; a confusion; a garble.
  • The muddle of nervous speech he uttered did not have much meaning.

    Derived terms

    * muddle-headed

    miss

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) missen, from (etyl) .

    Verb

    (es)
  • (ambitransitive) To fail to hit.
  • I missed the target.
    I tried to kick the ball, but missed .
  • * (Francis Bacon) (1561-1626)
  • Men observe when things hit, and not when they miss .
  • * (Edmund Waller) (1606-1687)
  • Flying bullets now, / To execute his rage, appear too slow; / They miss , or sweep but common souls away.
  • To fail to achieve or attain.
  • to miss an opportunity
  • * (John Locke) (1632-1705)
  • When a man misses his great end, happiness, he will acknowledge he judged not right.
  • To feel the absence of someone or something, sometimes with regret.
  • I miss you! Come home soon!
  • * (John Milton) (1608-1674)
  • What by me thou hast lost, thou least shalt miss .
  • *
  • The boy became volubly friendly and bubbling over with unexpected humour and high spirits. He tried to persuade Cicely to stay away from the ball-room for a fourth dance. Nobody would miss them, he explained.
  • To fail to understand or have a shortcoming of perception.
  • miss the joke
  • To fail to attend.
  • Joe missed the meeting this morning.
  • To be late for something (a means of transportation, a deadline, etc.).
  • I missed the plane!
  • (sports) To fail to score (a goal).
  • * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=September 18, author=Ben Dirs, work=BBC Sport
  • , title= Rugby World Cup 2011: England 41-10 Georgia , passage=Georgia, ranked 16th in the world, dominated the breakdown before half-time and forced England into a host of infringements, but fly-half Merab Kvirikashvili missed three penalties.}}
  • (obsolete) To go wrong; to err.
  • * (Edmund Spenser) (c.1552–1599)
  • Amongst the angels, a whole legion / Of wicked sprites did fall from happy bliss; / What wonder then if one, of women all, did miss ?
  • (obsolete) To be absent, deficient, or wanting.
  • * (William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
  • What here shall miss , our toil shall strive to mend.
    Usage notes
    * This is a catenative verb that takes the gerund (-ing) . See
    Antonyms
    * (to fail to hit) hit, strike, impinge on, run into, collide with * (to feel the absence of) have, feature
    Derived terms
    * hit-and-miss * miss a trick * miss the mark * miss the point * miss the boat * miss fire, misfire * miss out * near miss

    Noun

    (es)
  • A failure to hit.
  • A failure to obtain or accomplish.
  • An act of avoidance.
  • I think I’ll give the meeting a miss .

    Etymology 2

    From (mistress).

    Noun

    (wikipedia miss)
  • A title of respect for a young woman (usually unmarried) with or without a name used.
  • You may sit here, miss .
    You may sit here, Miss Jones.
  • An unmarried woman; a girl.
  • * Cawthorn
  • Gay vanity, with smiles and kisses, / Was busy 'mongst the maids and misses .
  • A kept woman; a mistress.
  • (Evelyn)
  • (card games) In the game of three-card loo, an extra hand, dealt on the table, which may be substituted for the hand dealt to a player.