> as lemmas

1766 B. Franklin Let. 8 Nov. in Papers (1969) XIII. 488 Time will do us Justice. Dirt thrown on a Mud-Wall may stick and incorporate; but it will not long adhere to polish'd Marble.]

1768 E. Lloyd Powers of Pen (ed. 2) 36 To kick and fling the Mud about, Lest People shou'd not find you out.

1780 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting (ed. 2) IV. iv. 79 Never did two angry men of their abilities throw mud with less dexterity.

1860 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) 13 Oct. 192/2 Sling mud, and you'll be dirty whether you beat or are beaten.

1880 ‘M. Twain’ Tramp Abroad xx. 187 These people fling mud at that elegant Englishman..and make fun of him.

1884 F. Marryat Under Lilies & Roses vii A woman in my position must expect to have more mud thrown at her than a less important person.

1912 A. Conan Doyle Lost World v. 76 You can only throw mud at the men who have risked their lives to open new fields to science.

1929 Pacific Affairs 2 80 Any Tom, Dick or Harry with..sufficient ability to sling mud at the authorities is forthwith adopted as ‘Our Own Correspondent’.

1959 A. Wesker Chicken Soup with Barley (Author's note), in E. M. Browne New Eng. Dramatists 173 Let no mud be thrown; few people's hands are clean. Just let us think again.

1960 Jrnl. Asian Stud. 19 287 Latter day Japanese Marxist writers have found it useful mud to fling at the wicked capitalists.

1992 Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka) 6 Sept. (New Delhi ed.) (Colour Mag.) 3/2 Ramamurthi said it was unfortunate that a sacred day like August 9 was chosen by the Moopanar faction to sling mud on him and destroy friendly relations with the state government.