muck around

Học thuật
Thân thiện
muck around

The children muck around in the backyard after school.

Definition

Verb: 1. To spend time in a lazy, aimless, or unproductive way; to engage in trivial or foolish activities. This is the primary meaning, describing idle behavior without serious purpose or result. 2. To treat someone or something in a careless, disrespectful, or playful manner. This meaning focuses on interacting with something or someone without proper seriousness or care.

Examples
  • Spending time idly:
    • We spent the afternoon just mucking around in the garden.
    • Stop mucking around and get your homework done!
  • Treating carelessly or playfully:
    • Don't muck around with that radio, you'll break it.
    • He's just mucking you around; don't take his promises seriously.
Advanced Usage
  • "to muck someone around": To cause problems or inconvenience for someone, often by being disorganized, unreliable, or dishonest.
    • The airline really mucked us around with all the delayed flights.
  • The phrase often implies a sense of time-wasting, messiness, or lack of direction.
Variants and Related Words
  • Muck about (phrasal verb): A direct synonym with identical meaning and usage to "muck around."
    • He was mucking about with his phone instead of listening.
  • Muck (verb): To make dirty or to deal with manure. The sense of dirtiness and disorder connects to the figurative meaning of "muck around."
Synonyms
  • Mess around/about: To behave in a silly or aimless way.
  • Fool around/about: To act playfully or without serious intent.
  • Potter about/around: To do small, unimportant tasks in a relaxed way (British English).
  • Dawdle: To waste time by being slow or idle.
Related Phrasal Verbs
  • Horse around: To play in a rough, noisy, and physical way.
    • The kids were horsing around in the living room.
Related Idioms
  • Muck in (British English): To join in and help with a task, especially one that is hard or dirty.
    • Everyone mucked in to clean up after the party.
  • As common as muck (British Idiom): Used to describe someone or something considered vulgar or of low social class.
muck around

The children muck around in the backyard after school.

Verb
  1. do random, unplanned work or activities or spend time idly
    • The old lady is usually mucking about in her little house

Từ đồng nghĩa