noun
mud boat; boat for transporting mud
Literal meaning: a boat used to carry mud, often in construction or dredging contexts.
工事現場で泥舟が使われている。
A mud boat is being used at the construction site.
noun
mud boat (folktale); sinking ship (figurative)
In folktales, a boat made of mud that inevitably sinks; figuratively, a hopeless situation or a doomed enterprise.
昔話に出てくる泥舟は、すぐに沈んでしまう。
The mud boat that appears in old tales sinks right away.
あの計画はもう泥舟だ。
That plan is already a sinking ship.
Compound of 泥 (doro, 'mud') and 舟/船 (fune, 'boat'). The figurative sense comes from the idea of a boat made of mud that cannot stay afloat.