hot water vs muddle

hot water

noun
  • Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see hot, water. 

  • fierce criticism 

  • A dangerous situation; trouble. 

muddle

noun
  • A mixture; a confusion; a garble. 

  • A mixture of crushed ingredients, as prepared with a muddler. 

verb
  • To dabble in mud. 

  • To mash slightly for use in a cocktail. 

  • To think and act in a confused, aimless way. 

  • To cloud or stupefy; to render stupid with liquor; to intoxicate partially. 

  • To mix together, to mix up; to confuse. 

  • To make turbid or muddy. 

  • To waste or misuse, as one does who is stupid or intoxicated. 

How often have the words hot water and muddle occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )