throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stick
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.92 in modern English
73
Scrabble Score
40
Letters
6
Syllables
18
Unique Chars
Meaning
proverb
To attempt the same strategy or technique (or similar ones) often enough, and, even if the general standard is poor, sometimes one will be successful.
proverb
If enough (perhaps false or reckless) accusations are made against a person (or an organization), their reputation will suffer, whether or not this is deserved.
Example Sentences
- "2001, And still no one is shouting stop. read in The Kingdom archives at https://web.archive.org/web/20060117103951/http://archives.tcm.ie/thekingdom/2001/01/19/story7064.asp on 02 Nov 06, Many team managers are of the philosophy that if you throw enough mud at the wall some of it will stick. They believe that team preparation is all about physical fitness. They run the players into the ground and they believe they will be "flying on the day"."
- "2001, Robert McCrum, Let them eat cake, in The Observer 16 Dec 01, read on Guardian Unlimited site at http://books.guardian.co.uk/critics/reviews/0,5917,619266,00.html on 02 Nov 06, Australian publishing boomed and in the past 10 years the country's literary culture has undergone a mini golden age, capped by Carey's triumph at the 2001 Booker Prize. As one Australian arts administrator said to me many years ago: 'Listen, mate, if you throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stick.'"
- "2001, Chris Collin, Re: 2-cp speys on The Strathspey Server mailing list archive at https://web.archive.org/web/20071031152521/http://www.strathspey.org/archive/msg?m=28513 on 02 Nov 06, I am finding that "if you throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stick". It doesn't always work of course (especially on the nights when the class is mostly the beginners), but the class seems to thrive on the challange."
- "2005, Ray Craft (poster on The right scale blog), Fitzhooie and his Burden, read at http://dickmcdonald.blogspot.com/2005_10_01_dickmcdonald_archive.html on 02 Nov 06, Prosecutors everywhere have bad habits of overcharging lots of cases, knowing that if the throw enough mud at the wall some of it will stick."
- "2005, Sean Kelleher, Spike Milligan: His part in our downfall in Business 07 Aug 05, read at http://www.financial-partners.biz/web/web/Mondial070805.pdf on 02 Nov 06, As long as there is negligible regulation and enforcement anyone can actually try and do the job...Weak regulation allows the industry to build strategies on full time recruitment. The theory goes: throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stick."
- "c2005, Everything You've Learned About Marketing Is Wrong, read on LINC Performance website at http://www.lincperformance.com/newsletters/newsletter/1098105/13140.htm on 02 Nov 06, They have the money to continue to believe in the repetition side of the equation. You throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stick. But it still isn’t the way to maximize your return."
Etymology
Connected with both throw things at the wall and see what sticks and throw dirt enough, and some will stick. Regarding this "mud" term in particular, it may possibly reference a technique of building wattle and daub walls by throwing daub (mud mixed with straw) at the wattle, throwing hard enough that some obtained a good key and remained in place; compare slapdash, a pebbledash effect produced by throwing pebbles at a rendered wall.