Definition
拖泥带水 literally means 'dragging mud and carrying water'. It describes speech, writing, or actions that are slow, unclear, and full of unnecessary details — the opposite of being crisp and efficient. Use it to criticize something that lacks conciseness or decisiveness.
f.e.
(chengyu) messyslovenlymuddled (especially of writing, speaking, or acting)
Examples
- 拖泥带水，。Tā de wénzhāng xiě de tuō ní dài shuǐ, ràng rén kàn bú xiàqù.His article is written in a messy way that makes it hard to read.
- 拖泥带水，。Nǐ shuōhuà bié tuō ní dài shuǐ de, zhíjiē shuō zhòngdiǎn.Don't be so muddled when you speak; just get to the point.
- 拖泥带水，。Tā zuòshì zǒngshì tuō ní dài shuǐ, xiàolǜ hěn dī.He always does things in a sloppy way, very inefficient.
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