mud wrestling

Noun

mud wrestling (uncountable)

1. A form of entertainment in which people wrestle in mud.
   • "I don't like female mudwrestling, It's stupid, it's embarrassing"1986, High fidelity, Volume 36, Issues 1-6; Volume 36, Issues 1-6
   • There is also the story of the brave young man who makes his living mudwrestling with anacondas.1994, John Coborn, John Coborn, The mini-atlas of snakes of the world, Snippet
2. (figuratively) A dirty and disreputable dispute.
   • We know our school system is beset by mayhem and indifference. We know all about the petty, niece-nephew-and-cousin-hiring satraps who populate the local school boards. And we know about the political mud-wrestling matches over too many millions of dollars and thousands of bureaucrats to imagine.1996 February 26, Michael Tomasky, “Kids Say the Darnedest Things”, in New York Magazine
   • When will we stop the political mud wrestling and begin to wrestle with the most potentially destructive force ever to challenge this Nation?2002 November 15–December 16, Congressional Record, volume 148, Part 17, page 23051