Word.ws English Dictionary

throw dirt enough, and some will stick

throw dirt enough, and some will stick proverb: if enough allegations are made about someone or something, then even if they are all untrue, people's opinion of the person or thing will be diminished.

Proverb

throw dirt enough, and some will stick

  1. If enough allegations are made about someone or something, then even if they are all untrue, people's opinion of the person or thing will be diminished.
    • I hope...that you are ignorant of the whole affair, and are so bold only because you are blind...And blind enough; so that you blunder on through thick and thin, bespattering all that come in your way, according to the old, laudable maxim, 'Throw dirt enough, and some will stick.'1759, John Wesley, letter to John Downes, Rector of St. Michael's, Wood Street, read at Wesley Center Online at https://web.archive.org/web/20060903061313/http://wesley.nnu.edu/john_wesley/letters/176...
    • But whatever harm a spiteful tongue could do them, he took care should be done. Only throw dirt enough, and some will stick.1857, Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown's Schooldays, read at fullbooks.com on 14 Oct 06

Origin of throw dirt enough, and some will stick

This proverb dates from c1650, and was popularised by Voltaire [François-Marie Arouet] in the 18th century.

Questions about throw dirt enough, and some will stick

What does throw dirt enough, and some will stick mean?
Throw dirt enough, and some will stick means if enough allegations are made about someone or something, then even if they are all untrue, people's opinion of the person or thing will be diminished.
What part of speech is throw dirt enough, and some will stick?
Throw dirt enough, and some will stick is a proverb.

Words near throw dirt enough, and some will stick in the dictionary

  1. throw by
  2. throw caution to the wind
  3. throw chunks
  4. throw cold water on
  5. throw dirt
  6. throw dirt enough, and some will stick
  7. throw dirt on
  8. throw down
  9. throw down one's tools
  10. throw down the gauntlet
  11. throw dust in someone's eyes

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: throw dirt enough, and some will stick (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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