mudslinging

From mud +‎ slinging.

mudslinging (plural mudslingings)

1. Casting aspersions with intent to discredit.

   The campaign degenerated into mutual mudslinging, each candidate trying to tarnish the other's reputation and looking bad in the process.

   • 1906, Theodore Roosevelt, The Man with the Muck Rake:

     Some persons are sincerely incapable of understanding that to denounce mud slinging does not mean the endorsement of whitewashing; and both the interested individuals who need whitewashing and those others who practice mud slinging like to encourage such confusion of ideas.

2. An act of making damaging or spiteful remarks with the intent to discredit.

   The mudslinging didn't help expand the media coverage of the issues; all that was reported was the mudslingings.

• mud fight
• throw enough mud at the wall, some of it will stick