macabre

• danse macabre
• danse

[muh-KAHB]
1. Having death as a subject; comprising or including a personalized representation of death.
2. Dwelling on the gruesome.
3. Tending to produce horror in a beholder.
Example:
The Halloween movie was a grisly and macabre tale filled with gruesome special effects and terrifying monsters.
History:
During the 13th and 14th centuries, when everyday life was marked by horrific events such as the Black Plague and the Hundred Years' War, Europeans introduced the danse macabre to demonstrate the inevitability and impartiality of death. The danse macabre was a dance or parade in which a skeleton representing death led other skeletons or living persons to the grave, and its name recalls the Maccabees, 2nd-century Jewish patriots who were associated with death and purgatory. Middle French speakers called this pageant "danse de Macabre," literally "dance of death," and it was from the French name that English speakers borrowed "macabre" as a term for things hideous or deathly.


macaroni

• fop
• dandy

[mak-uh-ROH-nee]
1. Pasta made from semolina and shaped in the form of slender tubes.
2. A member of a class of traveled young Englishmen of the late 18th and early 19th centuries who affected foreign ways.
3. An affected young man; fop.
Example:
If he...talks about London and Lord March, and White's, and Almack's, with the air of a macaroni, I don't think we need like him much the less. (William Makepeace Thackeray, "The Virginians")
History, synonyms:
The "macaroni" in the song "Yankee Doodle" is not the familiar food. The feather in Yankee Doodle's cap apparently makes him a macaroni in the now rare "fop" or "dandy" sense. The sense appears to have originated with a club established in London by a group of young, well-traveled Englishmen in the 1760s. The founders prided themselves on their appearance, sense of style, and manners, and they chose the name Macaroni Club to indicate their worldliness. Because macaroni was, at the time, a new and rather exotic food in England, the name was meant to demonstrate how stylish the club's members were. The members were themselves called "macaronis," and eventually "macaroni" became synonymous with "dandy" and "fop."


machination

• machinate
• machinator

[mack-uh-NAY-shuhn; mash-]
1. The act of plotting.
2. A crafty scheme; a cunning design or plot intended to accomplish some usually evil end.
Examples:
1) He was telling me how he could have married the royal princess as a reward for his bravery in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where he was an infantryman in the Kaiserliche und Konigliche Austro-Hungarian army, but for the machinations of the evil Archduke somebody-or-other. (George Lang, "Nobody Knows the Truffles I've Seen")
2) Alongside the various representations of sincere tears, then, are a series of representations of insincerity and emotional machination. (Tom Lutz, "Crying")
3) To keep away from them and steer clear of their inveigling schemes and grasping machinations . . . has been my constant life-long effort. (Jeff Stryker, "They Couldn't Resist: Oh, One Last Thing," New York Times, May 21, 2000)
4) He declared that the tale he could tell would not be of generals or kings, for the political machinations of the great, he said, he was and had been in no position to observe. (Steven Pressfield, "Gates of Fire")
Etymology:
"Machination" derives from Latin "machinatio" - "a contrivance, a cunning device, a machination," from "machinari" - "to contrive, to devise, especially to plot evil." It is related to machine, from Latin "machina" - "any artificial contrivance for performing work". "To machinate" is to devise a plot, or engage in plotting. One who machinates is a machinator.


macho

• mucho
• machismo

(slang)
1. Tough guy; superman
2. Strongly masculine or assertive man; domineering and aggressive man.
3. Machismo, male chauvinism.
4. A great amount or quantity of something.
5. The striped mullet of california (mugil cephalus, or mexicanus)
6. Masculine; assertive; domineering.
7. Super masculine; masculine to an extreme.
Example:
Remember that your goal is to raise a respectful man, and not a macho.
Etymology:
1928 (n.) "tough guy," from Sp. "macho" ("male animal"); as an adj., "masculine, virile," from L. "masculus". First attested in Eng. as an adj. 1959.



macilentus
['masIl@nt]
Lean, shrivelled, or excessively thin.
Etymology, examples:
This word was marked as rare in dictionaries a century ago and has become even more so since, though it retains a niche in elevated or pretentious prose. It's from Latin "macilentus" - "lean". In 1851 a writer evoked with it a victim of tuberculosis: "of whom I could recollect nothing but a macilent figure, stretched upon a sofa and scarcely breathing". It can also have a figurative sense that refers to poor-quality or inferior writing. A reviewer of Britney Spears's album "In the Zone" in 2003 described it as "Britney's most personal statement. Because it's as lost and macilent and alluring and eager to please and disturbingly empty-eyed as she is."


macrocosm

• universe
• existence
• creation
• world
• cosmos
• microcosm

1. The entire world; everything that exists anywhere; the great world; that part of the universe which is exterior to man; contrasted with microcosm, or man.
2. A system reflecting on a large scale one of its component systems or parts.
Example:
They study the evolution of the macrocosm.
Synonyms:
universe, existence, creation, world, cosmos
Antonym: microcosm
Etymology:
Medieval Latin "macrocosmus": Greek "makro-" ("macro-") + Greek "kosmos" ("world"); cf. French "macrocosme".



mad as a hatter

• as mad as a hatter
• mad
• hatter

Stark raving mad, insane, deranged, strange, eccentric, batty, plumb loco, completely crazy.
Examples:
1) If you wear that pink wig, people will think you're mad as a hatter.
2) Sean is as mad as a hatter, but he's my most interesting friend.
History:
Lewis Carroll created the character of the Mad Hatter in his classic book "Alice in Wonderland". The expression "mad as a hatter" comes from the early 1800s. One possible origin is a snake called adder. People in England thought that if you were bitten by an adder, its poison would make you insane. Some people pronounced "adder" as "atter", so if you acted crazy, you were as "mad as an atter", which later became "hatter". Another explanation of the expression's origin is that people who worked in felt-hat factories in the 1800s inhaled fumes of mercuric nitrate, and, as a result, developed twitches, jumbled their speech, and grew confused. The condition was sometimes mistaken for madness and may have given birth to the saying "mad as a hatter."


mad as a wet hen

• as mad as a wet hen
• mad
• wet hen
• wet
• hen

Very upset; extremely angry; ready to fight.
Example:
When Tess realized that her brother had eaten all the cookies, she was as mad as a wet
hen.
History:
It doesn't really bother hens much when they get wet. This early 19th century expression probably resulted from a mistake or someone's imagination. It is not a barnyard reality.

maelstrom
[MAYL-struhm]
1. A large, powerful, or destructive whirlpool.
2. Something resembling a maelstrom; a violent, disordered, or turbulent state of affairs.
Examples:
1) The murk became thicker as Zachareesi fishtailed his canoe through a swirling maelstrom of currents pouring past, and over, unseen rocks. (Farley Mowat, "The Farfarers")
2) Suddenly, the Serb cause was thrust into the maelstrom of the Napoleonic Wars. (Misha Glenny, "The Balkans")
3) Always at the center of a maelstrom of activity and contention, he provided good columns for the press. (Arthur Lennig, "Stroheim Like")
4) Captain Ahab, the monomaniacal Harmon draws everyone around him into a maelstrom of trouble. (John Motyka, review of "The Dogs of Winter", by Kem Nunn, New York Times, March 23, 1997)
Etymology:
"Maelstrom" comes from obsolete Dutch "maelstroom", from "malen" ("to grind, hence to whirl round") + "stroom" ("stream").


maffick

• Mafeking Night
• Mafeking
• Night
• Mafikeng
• Mafikeng night

to celebrate with boisterous rejoicing and hilarious behavior
Example:
In 1904, author H.H. Munro penned, "Mother, may I go and maffick, / Tear about and hinder traffic" in his sardonic satire about the South African War, "Reginald's Peace Poem".
History:
"Maffick" is an alteration of Mafeking Night, the British celebration of the lifting of the siege of a British military outpost during the South African War at the town of Mafikeng (also spelled Mafeking) on May 17, 1900. The South African War was fought between the British and the Afrikaners, who were Dutch and Huguenot settlers originally called Boers, over the right to govern frontier territories. Though the war did not end until 1902, the lifting of the siege of Mafikeng was a significant victory for the British because they held out against a larger Afrikaner force for 217 days until reinforcements could arrive. The rejoicing in British cities on news of the rescue produced "maffick", a word that was popular for a while, especially in journalistic writing, but is now less common.


magic carpet

• magic
• carpet
• Prince Housain's carpet
• Prince Housain
• King Solomon's carpet
• King Solomon

Imaginary flying carpet: in fairy stories, a carpet that flies through the air and is used as a form of transportation.
Example:
A magic carpet is a carpet that would transport persons who were on it instantaneously or quickly to their destination.
History:
The magic carpet of Tangu, also called "Prince Housain's carpet" was a seemingly worthless carpet from Tangu in Persia that acted as a magic carpet. It was featured in many Asian folktales, notably in "Aladdin" and "Arabian Nights".
King Solomon's carpet was reportedly made of green silk, on which Solomon's throne was placed when traveling. It was large enough for his coterie to stand upon, people on his right, spirits to his left. The wind followed Solomon's commands, and ensured the carpet and its contents would go to the proper destination. The carpet was shielded from the sun by a canopy of birds.


magniloquent

• grandiloquent
• ornate
• florid
• flowery
• euphuistic
• sonorous

[mag-NIL-uh-kwunt]
Lofty or grandiose in speech or expression; using a high-flown style of discourse; speaking in or characterized by a high-flown often bombastic style or manner.
Examples:
1) Poet Edward Weismiller told "The Baltimore Sun" (April 10, 2004) that his former tendency to be magniloquent "was stamped out" of him by his mentor John Berryman.
2) Stevens did for American poetic language what Saul Bellow was to do for prose, extending its boundaries, taking in the magniloquent, the arcane, the plainspoken, the gaudy, the low-rent. (Algis Valiunas, "Wallace Stevens: Collected Poetry and Prose," Commentary, January 1, 1998)
3) A feature of Young's intellectual project is to incorporate the Elizabethan delight in metaphors both decorous and indecorous, constantly embellishing her prose with a poetic juxtaposition of the grand with the prosaic, "a constant alternation of the magniloquent and the colloquial." (Constance Eichenlaub, "Marguerite Young," Review of Contemporary Fiction, June 22, 2000)
4) Although Napoleon presented himself as "the Enlightenment embodied, bringing rationality and justice to peoples hitherto ruled in the interests of privileged castes," and although he may even have believed to some degree in the image he presented, the reality of his rule belied the magniloquent professions of moral generosity. (Algis Valiunas, "The ashes of Napoleon," Commentary, June 1, 2002)
5) Shannon, doubling as NSBA's executive director over that time, has taken wicked delight in delivering new vocabulary in his sometimes magniloquent columns about the workings of local school boards. ("Thomas A. Shannon," School Administrator, April 1996)
Synonyms: ornate, florid, flowery, euphuistic, sonorous, grandiloquent.
History, a related word:
"Magnus" means "great" in Latin; "loqui" is a Latin verb meaning "to speak." Combine the two and you get "magniloquus," the Latin predecessor of "magniloquent." English speakers started using "magniloquent" for the "bombastic" in the 1600s - even though we'd had its synonym "grandiloquent" since the 1500s. ("Grandiloquent" comes from Latin "grandiloquus," which combines "loqui" and "grandis," another word for "great" in Latin.) Today, these synonyms continue to exist side by side and to be used interchangeably, though "grandiloquent" is the more common of the two.


maieutic
relating to or resembling the Socratic method of eliciting new ideas from another
Example:
Professor Collins often uses maieutic logic to encourage his students to explore and understand the various facets of a problem.
Etymology:
"Maieutic" comes from "maieutikos," the Greek word for "of midwifery." Whoever applied "maieutic" to the Socratic method of bringing forth new ideas by reasoning and dialogue must have thought the techniques of Socrates analogous to those a midwife uses in delivering a baby. A teacher who uses maieutic methods can be thought of as an intellectual midwife who assists students in bringing forth ideas and conceptions previously latent in their minds.


make a beeline for

• make a beeline
• make
• beeline
• beeline for

go straight towards
Example:
When the kids saw Santa Claus coming, they all made a beeline for him.


make a day of it

• make a day of
• make a day
• make
• day

1. Do something all day.
Example:
We were afraid of literature exam coming on Monday and all the Sunday made a day of it.
2. Amuse oneself all day long.
Example:
We decided to make a day of it and spend the day at the beach.


make a federal case out of

• make a federal case out of it
• make a federal case out of smth.

To exaggerate the seriousness of something small; to make a big deal out of something.
Example:
I was looking at your test paper to see the date. Don't make a federal case out of it.
History:
The federal courts and Supreme Court of the United States handle the most important issues of the law. So, if you overreact to something said or done, you're "making a federal case out of it," or making it more important than it needs to be.

make a hames of smth.

• make a hames of
• make a hames
• make
• hames
• make a hame
• hame

(Irish) To make a mess of smth.
Example:
I thought I wasn't when they called on Saturday but now I'm so shakky, I know what I should say and all, but I'm afarid I just will make a hames of it! ...
Etymology, more examples:
The expression is restricted to Ireland and doesn't now seem to be so very common even there. Here's one example from the "Irish Examiner" in August 2004, describing a local politician's chances in a reshuffle: "You know he'd be thrilled with Finance, and it wouldn't do you any harm to watch him make a hames of it. He could even be the scapegoat for the next election." Though the expression isn't known elsewhere, anyone who has much to do with working horses will know the term, because the hames are the two curved supports attached to the collar of a draft horse to which the traces are fastened. It's all too easy to put the hames on a horse the wrong way up, thus making a complete mess of things and risking adverse comments from bystanders. Here's a literary example, from Hugh Leonard's "Out After Dark" of 1989: "Instead I made a hames of it, mislaying a verb, marooning a noun on a foreign shore, starting a jerry-built sentence that caved in halfway through". "Hame", in lots of different spellings, was once common in dialects throughout Britain and Ireland and there are terms in Old Dutch and German that are similar. The best we can say about its origins is that it's a Germanic word, perhaps imported from Dutch around 1300 < ME "hames".
The word usually occurs in the plural. Some pubs have the name "Hamemakers Arms", others have a similar name "Homemakers Arms". The names may be derived from both "hames" and "home", or may both be derived from one of these.

make a mountain out of a molehill

• make
• mountain
• out of
• molehill
• make out
• make out of
• make
• make an elephant out of a fly
• make
• out of
• make out
• elephant
• fly

To make a problem bigger, exaggerate a problem; to turn a small, unimportant issue into a big, important one; to exaggerate the importance of something.
Examples:
1) "I can't believe you forgot to return your library book!" Damon wagged his finger at
Yvonne.
"Look, it's only one day overdue and I'm returning it right now. Stop making a mountain out of a molehill!"
2) Your 'broken arm' was only a sprained write. Don't make a mountain out of a molehill.
History, synonym:
A mountain is huge; a molehill is small. The ancient Greeks had a saying, "make
an elephant out of a fly," which became a proverb in French and German. By the mid-1500s people in England were saying "make a mountain out of a molehill," probably because "make", "mountain", and "molehill" all begin with "m", and alliteration helps make an expression fun to say and easier to remember.

make a pass at

• make a pass
• make
• pass

make a romantic approach to smb.; woo smb.; try to get a date with smb.
Example:
Julie made a pass at me. She sent me a love note and smiled at me.



make a play for

• make a play
• make
• play for
• make a play
• play

do something in order to obtain smth./smb., make an effort to attain smth./smb.
Examples:
1) You remember Mile High Stadium. Fans make a play for seats. But stadium security sits on their attempts to swipe souvenirs.
2) John always makes a play for new girls in the group.


make a silk purse out of a sow's ear

• One can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear
• One cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear
• You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear
• You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear
• good coat of poor cloth
• make good coat of poor cloth
• hunting horn out of a pig's tail
• make hunting horn out of a pig's tail
• put some lipstick on that pig
• hunting horn
• pig's
• tail
• pig
• hunting
• horn
• good
• coat
• poor
• cloth
• make
• silk
• purse
• out of
• sow's
• sow
• ear
• make out of
• make out

To create something valuable or beautiful out of something practically worthless or ugly.
Example:
Owen thinks that by polishing his old car, he can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
History, synonyms:
There are similar expressions in many languages; these sayings also use "good thing - bad thing" combinations (for instance, "to make good coat of poor cloth," and "to make hunting horn out of a pig's tail"). In the US there is a contemporary variant to that saying: "to put some lipstick on that pig." An English version close to this idiom has been around since 1700. A silk purse is an elegant, expensive item made of fine, shiny fibers. A sow is an adult female pig. So if anyone can take a sow's ear and turn it into a silk purse, he or she
might be able to take a bad situation and make something good out of it.



make away with

• make away
• make
• away with
• away

1. To take; to carry away;
Example: The cat made away with the bird that was sitting on top of the kitchen counter.
2. To get rid of; to rid oneself of;
3. To finish, to complete
4. To kill, to murder (someone or oneself) Example: He made away with himself.
5. To steal; To run away with stolen stuff
Example: The police gave chase, but the thieves made away with the jewels.


make ends meet

• make
• end
• meet

1. To be able to support oneself financially on one's salary; to have enough money to survive; to pay the bills, have enough to pay the expenses.
2. Barely to earn enough money to survive; to live on the edge of poverty.
Examples:
1) My dad has to work overtime almost every night, and lately he works on weekends, too. He says it's what he has to do to make ends meet.
2) On her salary, Jackie can hardly make ends meet.
3) Although the Millers are poor, they make ends meet.
History:
What does "ends" mean in this expression? Some word experts think that in the 1600s it could have meant the sum total, the end of a column of figures that were added up. Others think that in the mid-1700s it meant the beginning and the end of the financial year.


make eyes at

• make eyes
• make
• eye
• eyes

blink the eyes, make an expression with the eyes, look at in an alluring manner; flirt, look at a member of the opposite sex to try and attract them
Example:
The boy was making eyes at all girls in turn.


make hay while the sun shines

• Strike while the iron is hot
• make
• hay
• sun
• shine
• Strike
• while
• iron
• hot

(Saying) To make the best of a limited opportunity; to take advantage of an opportunity, to take a chance while it is available.
Synonym: Strike while the iron is hot.
Examples:
1. Jason and Frank were watching a basketball game on television. A commercial came on with their favorite player, Michael Jordan, doing an incredible reverse slam dunk, and wearing some very fancy shoes. "You know," said Jason, "Jordan makes a lot of money playing basketball. So why does he do commercials for shoes too?" "Go easy on the man," said Frank. "He's just trying to make hay while the sun shines. You think he'll be able to dunk like that in ten years?" "You're right," said Jason. "In ten years, you'll be seeing me on that screen, and you'll be buying "Jason Jammers'!"
2. If you want a part in the show, you'd better put on your tap shoes and make hay while
the sun shines.
Etymology:
This proverb dates from the early to mid-1500s. Hay is made from grass that has
been cut and dried. Rain will spoil cut grass, so farmers have to time it right and make
hay on days when the sun is shining. This expression includes anything that should be done when the time is right, taking full advantage of an opportunity before it passes.

make head or tail of smth.

• make head or tail of
• make head or tail out of smth.
• make head or tail out of
• make heads or tails out of smth.
• make heads or tails out of
• make
• head
• heads
• tail
• tails
• out of
• make out of
• make of
• make out
• make

(Used in negative, conditional, and interrogative sentences.) To see the why of; finding a meaning in; to understand how something works; to figure something out.
Examples:
1) She could not make head or tail of the directions on the dress pattern.
2) Can you make head or tail of the letter?
3) Dad couldn't make heads or tails out of the instructions for taping shows with his new
VCR.
History:
Cicero, a Roman statesman and public speaker of the first century B.C., used a
similar expression, "neither head nor feet." The current English saying comes from the
1600s. The head is the front or top of something. The tail is the end or bottom. So if you
can make heads or tails out of something, you can understand it from beginning to end, from top to bottom. This expression is often used in the negative ("They can't make...") because there are a lot of things in this world that are difficult to understand.

make heads roll

• heads will roll
• make
• head
• heads
• roll

demote or dismiss people as a punishment

make no bones about

• make no bones about smth.
• make no bones about smb.
• make no bones
• make
• bone
• bones

To speak directly, plainly, honestly, and without hesitation or doubt; to speak one's mind.
Example:
The substitute teacher made no bones about not liking hats worn to class.
History:
The origin of this old idiom, first used in print in 1548, is not clear. Some word experts have suggested that it came from the fact that if there are no bones in your soup, you can just swallow it without worrying about choking. That's like speaking plainly without worrying.

make off

• make
• off

escape, leave quickly
Example:
The police chased them, but the thieves made off with the jewels.


make off with

• make off
• make
• off

take away, take without permission
Example:
The boys made off with his toys. They took all his cars and trucks.


make one's mouth water

• make the mouth water
• make
• mouth
• water
• lick one's chops
• lick chops
• lick the chops
• lick
• chop
• chops

1. To look or smell very good; make you want very much to eat or drink something you see or smell; to want to eat or drink something that looks or smells delicious; to want to eat something because of the thought or smell of the food.
2. To be attractive; make you want to have something very much;
Compare: lick one's chops
Examples:
1) The pies in the store window made Dan's mouth water.
2) The picture of the ice cream soda made his mouth water.
3) Judy collects folk song records, and the records in the store window made her mouth water.
4) Looking at the menu made my mouth water.
5) Seeing those posters of Hawaii made my mouth water for a vacation on a beach.
History:
This expression was used as early as the mid-1500s, but since time began, people
have known that the sight, smell, or even thought of food can make a person's salivary
glands start up, causing the mouth to water. Though this saying is often used in
connection with food or drink, it can really be used when looking forward to something
that you want a lot.

make out

• make
• neck

To kiss and caress intensely.
Example:
Bill and Suzy were making out in front of the television.
Synonym: neck
History:
This phrase goes back to the 1940s.


make the fur fly

• make
• fur
• fly

To start a fight.
Etymology: Possibly a reference to the nursery rhyme The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat; certainly a reference to a cat and dog fighting.

make the grade

• make
• grade
• measure up
• measure

1. Do acceptable work
Synonym:
measure up
Example:
2. Succeed, overcome difficulties; make good, succeed, meet a standard, qualify
Example:
He wasn`t able to make the grade and join the basketball team.


make the scene

• make
• scene

be present, go to a certain place or event
Examples:
1) He decided to make the scene and go to the party.
2) I don't wanna make the scene! I'm gonna make off.

make waves

• make
• wave
• waves
• rock the boat
• rock
• boat

1. To cause problems, to make a disturbance; to cause trouble; to upset matters.
2. To show off, to boast.
Examples:
1) Our company has changed a lot. Don't make any more waves.
2) I don't mean to make waves, but I don't agree with my curfew.
History, synonyms:
This 20th-century American saying refers to keeping waters still. If you want to sail peacefully on in your sailboat or float calmly on a raft, you don't want anybody making waves. That might rock the boat or even flip your raft over. A related idiom is "rock the boat".



makebate
[mAk'bAt", make"bate']
(obs.) One who excites contentions and quarrels.
Example:
Elsewhere he may be an useful and profitable member of the commonweal - here he is but a makebate, and a stumbling-block of offence. (Sir Walter Scott, "The Abbot", 1820)
Etymology, related words:
"make" + "bate" ("quarrel, strife").
Somebody who is a "makebate" is clearly making a bate. The second half survives today in "abate" and "debate"; it comes from Latin "battere" - "to beat or fight" (the first sense of "debate" in English in medieval times was "to quarrel or battle"). As a noun, "bate" described discord that was severe enough to result in a fight. British readers might think they recognise in this another form of "bate", a fit of rage or bad temper, an example of which appeared in the Daily Mail in January 2004: "Shrieking with simulated frustration, Clarkson flew into a bate, picked up a hammer and smashed his desktop to smithereens." But the evidence suggests this is a respelling of the verb "bait", to persecute a person with persistent attacks, so that a person was said to be in a bate (or bait) as a result of being baited. Among the other senses of "bate", one in particular is known to falconers. A hawk that beats its wings in agitation and flutters off the perch is said to "bate". This is ultimately also from Latin "battere", but directly from the intermediate French "batre" - "to beat", linked to the verb to "batter".

makeup

• make-up
• make up
• make up for
• war paint
• paint

1. The way in which someone or something is composed.
Synonoms: constitution, composition
Example:
The committee's membership does not reflect the city's racial makeup. 2. Cosmetics used to color and beautify the face; a cosmetic applied to other parts of the body; materials (as wigs and cosmetics) used in making up or in special costuming (as for a play).
Synonoms: make-up, war paint
3. An event that is substituted for a previously cancelled event; a special examination in which a student may make up for absence or previous failure.
Example:
He missed the test and had to take a makeup.
4. The operation of making up especially pages for printing; design or layout of printed matter.
Example:
The makeup would be helped by a picture in this corner. 5. Material added (as in a manufacturing process) to replace material that has been used up.
Synonym:
replacement
6. The essential character or temperament of a person.
7. Physical or mental constitution.
Example:
The makeup of a criminal was rather prominent.
8. An amount owed; balance. 9. To compose.
Example:
The car is made up of many different parts: wheels, seats, tires and doors.
10. To compensate, to recompense, to repay.
Also:
make up for
Examples:
1) I know he's getting tired too, but the guy knows how to make up.
2) Please let me make up for my mistake. Let me help you.
11. To create, to imagine.
Example:
Let's make up a song for Jane's birthday.
12. To paint one's lips, face etc.
Example:
Wait me, guys! I just make up!
13. To make peace, to be friends again, come together again.
Example:
John and Marsha fight, but they always kiss and make up.


mala fide

• mala
• fide
• bona fide
• bona

[mal-uh-FYE-dee]
Adverb or adjective
With or in bad faith.
Example:
The judge concluded that the company had acted mala fide in concealing the information.
History, antonym, more examples:
You may be familiar with the more commonly used "bona fide" ([BOH-nuh-fyde]), which can mean "made in good faith" (as in "a bona fide agreement") or "genuine or real" ("a bona fide miracle"). Not surprisingly, in Latin "bona fide" means "in good faith" and "mala fide" means "in bad faith." These days "mala fide," which dates from the mid-16th century, tends to turn up primarily in legal contexts.


maladroit

• inept
• adroit

[mal-uh-DROYT]
Lacking skill, cleverness, or resourcefulness in handling situations.
Synonym: inept
Example:
Liz's friends marvel that anyone as skillful as she is at managing an accounting office can be so maladroit when it comes to keeping track of her personal finances.
Etymology, antonym:
To understand the origin of "maladroit," you need to put together some French (or at least Middle French and Old French) building blocks. The first is the word "mal," meaning "bad," and the second is the phrase "a droit," meaning "properly." You can parse the phrase even further into the components "a," meaning "to" or "at," and "droit," meaning "right, direct, straight." Middle French speakers put those pieces together as "maladroit" to describe the clumsy among them, and English speakers borrowed the word intact back in the 17th century. Its opposite, of course, is "adroit," which we adopted from the French in the same century.


malaise
[muh-LAYZ; -LEZ]
1. A vague feeling of discomfort in the body, as at the onset of illness.
2. A general feeling of depression or unease.
Examples:
1) The first sign of illness is a malaise no worse than influenza. (Steve Jones, "Darwin's Ghost")
2) Beauty is a basic pleasure. Try to imagine that you have become immune to beauty. Chances are, you would consider yourself unwell - sunk in a physical, spiritual, or emotional malaise. (Nancy Etcoff, "Survival of the Prettiest")
3) He fell in love with Modotti's sad beauty and her indecipherable character, and he saw in her the same vague subtle malaise that made him feel like a stranger to life. (Pino Cacucci, "Tina Modotti: A Life")
4) Shortly after the birth of his second child, the Prince found himself in a state of malaise and dissatisfaction with life which manifested itself as a boredom with his wife, and an interest in one of the young ladies at court. (Andrew Crumey, "Pfitz")
Etymology:
"Malaise" comes from the French, from Old French "mal" ("bad, ill") + "aise" ("comfort, ease").

 

 

mellifluous

• canorous
• dulcet
• melodious
• sweet

[muh-LIF-loo-us]
1. Flowing as with honey; filled with something that sweetens.
2. Having a smooth rich flow; flowing sweetly or smoothly; as, a mellifluous voice.
Synonyms: canorous, dulcet, melodious, sweet.
Examples:
1) The balladeer whose mellifluous voice serenaded two generations of lovers. (Margo Jefferson, "Unforgettable," New York Times, December 26, 1999)
2) The tones were high-sounding, mellifluous, as if the speaker was reading from a book of old English verse while holding back any trace of sentiment or emotion. (Ken Gormley, Archibald Cox: Conscience of a Nation)
3) I picked up more mellifluous words when a family friend came over to teach me some Chilean music on my guitar. (Edward Hower, "No Frogs Allowed," New York Times, January 30, 2000)
4) Lucy recognized the actor's mellifluous voice immediately from the many voice-overs he had done for commercials, station breaks, and documentaries.
Etymology, more examples:
"Mellifluous" comes from Latin "mellifluus", from "mel" ("honey") + "fluus" ("flowing"), from "fluere" ("to flow"). The Middle English ancestors of "mellifluous" was "mellyfluous". Nowadays the adjective most often applies to the sound of words or speech or music - as it has for centuries. In 1671, for example, poet John Milton wrote in "Paradise Regained" of the "Wisest of men; from whose mouth issu'd forth / Mellifluous streams...." But "mellifluous" can also be used of flavor, as in the following rave from an article entitled "The Sublime Wine": "The first taste sensation is an electric sweetness that explodes within the mouth, but what emerges after swallowing is a mellifluous, lingering flavor...." (James Villas, "Town & Country", December 1991)



meme
[MEEM]
An idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture.
Example:
Blogs are an interesting way... of seeing which ideas, memes, trends and news events are getting the most comment. (Clive Thompson, quoted in the "Sunday Tribune", February 6, 2005)
History, related words:
In 1976, British scientist Richard Dawkins wrote "The Selfish Gene", and in his book he defended his new creation, the word "meme." Having first considered, then rejected, "mimeme," he wrote: "'Mimeme' comes from a suitable Greek root, but I want a monosyllable that sounds a bit like 'gene.' I hope my classicist friends will forgive me if I abbreviate 'mimeme' to 'meme.'" The suitable Greek root was "mim-," meaning "mime" or "mimic." Dawkins's "mimeme" was formed from "mim-" plus "-eme," an English noun suffix that indicates a distinctive unit of language structure (as in "grapheme," "lexeme," and "phoneme"). "Meme" itself, like a good meme, caught on pretty quickly, spreading from person to person as it established itself in the language.


menagerie
[muh-NAJ-uh-ree; -NAZH-]
1. A collection of wild or unusual animals, especially for exhibition.
2. An enclosure where wild or unusual animals are kept or exhibited.
3. A diverse or varied group.
Examples:
1) No palace had such a fine menagerie, stocked with howler monkeys, hill mynahs and Moluccan cockatoos that eliminated any need for a wind-up Swiss alarm clock. (Pogo, "Life of Pi," Reviewer's Bookwatch, October 2004)
2) Once, when he was too ill even to visit the zoo, Gerald was provided with a sort of substitute zoo of his own by the family butler, Jomen, who modelled a whole menagerie of animals - rhinoceros, lion, tiger, antelope - out of red laterite clay from the garden. (Douglas Botting, "Gerald Durrell: The Authorized Biography")
3) They must have been an amiable lot, however, for she was so obviously unprepared for the veritable menagerie of cabin passengers on the return voyage to New York. (Joan Druett, "Hen Frigates")
4) Leaner organizations may not have the infrastructure or a menagerie of specialists, but they are able to offer greater personal attention, accountability and economy. (Marc Diener, "Seeking counsel: how to find Mr. or Mrs. Right, Esq," Entrepreneur, January 2003)
Etymology:
"Menagerie" comes from French "m?nagerie", from Middle French, from "menage", from Old French "mesnage" ("dwelling").

mendacious

• lying

[men-DAY-shus]
given to or characterized by deception or falsehood or divergence from absolute truth
Example:
Mildred had ... given her an elaborate but mendacious account of the circumstances which had brought her to the pass she was in." (W. S. Maugham, "Of Human Bondage")
Etymology, synonyms, more examples:
1616, from M.Fr. "mendacieux", from L. "mendacium" - "a lie," from "mendax" (gen. "mendacis") - "lying, deceitful," related to "menda" - "fault, defect, carelessness in writing" (cf. "amend", "mendicant"), from PIE base "mend-" = "physical defect, fault." The sense evolution of "mendax" influenced by "mentiri" - "to speak falsely, lie, deceive."
"Mendacious" and "lying" have very similar meanings, but the two are not interchangeable. "Mendacious" is more formal and literary, suggesting a deception harmless enough to be considered bland. "Lying" is more blunt, accusatory, and often confrontational. You might yell, "You lying rat!" in an argument, but you would most likely stick to the more diplomatic, "Aren't you being somewhat mendacious?" in a business meeting. "Mendacious" can also imply habitual untruthfulness, whereas "lying" is more likely to be used to identify specific incidences of dishonesty.


mendicant
[MEN-dih-kunt]
1. A beggar; especially, one who makes a business of begging.
2. A member of an order of friars forbidden to acquire landed property and required to be supported by alms.
3. Practicing beggary; begging; living on alms; as, "mendicant friars".
Examples:
1) Money has ever posed problems. Not even love, said Gladstone, has made so many fools of men. Throughout time the most obvious but universal dilemma - that there is never enough of it - has confounded everyone, from mendicants to monarchs, and their ministers. (Janet Gleeson, "Millionaire")
2) She was well dressed, obviously not a mendicant. (William Safire, "Scandalmonger")
Etymology:
"Mendicant" derives from Latin "mendicare" - "to beg", from "mendicus" - "beggar".


menopot

• manopot

[MEN-uh-pawt]
The layer of fat around the abdomen that many women develop after going through menopause.
Examples:
1) Why are we, the fiftysomethings, taking over the gyms of Toronto? Fear of the 50-plus spare tire, aka the menopot. (Joanne Kates, "What could be worse than old age?", The Globe and Mail, March 12, 2004)
2) Menopot: The fat around a woman's waistline that is above the abdominal muscle wall; feels soft and can be grabbed easily; also known as "pinch an inch" fat. (Lisa Kremer, "Less stress begets success", The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington), January 5, 2004)
Etymology:
This word was coined by Dr. Pamela Peeke, a scientist at the National Institutes of Health. She first used it in her book "Fight Fat After Forty", published in April, 2000. Dr. Peeke has also coined a word for the male version of this problem - the "manopot", but that term hasn't caught on yet. (The word "pot" is, of course, short for "pot belly", a phrase that has been in the language since at least 1714.)


mental

• nutty
• loony
• crazy
• mad
• nuts

Mad; crazy; not acting rationally.
Examples:
1) My cousin Charlie is mental - he tried to bite my little sister. 2) Why are you playing with that gun? Are you mental or something?
Etymology: Normally, 'mental' refers to the mind or the brain. Someone who is 'mentally ill' is sick in their mind. As slang, 'mental' means 'sick in the head'.
Synonyms: nutty, loony; (slang) nuts

mephitic
1. Offensive to the smell; as, mephitic odors.
2. Poisonous; noxious.
Examples:
1) The mephitic stench from the bilge became overpowering. (Richard Holmes, "Coleridge: Darker Reflections, 1804-1834")
2) Over everything presides "a sort of mephitic fog", a pervasive sulfuric stink. (Dale Peck, "Way Outback", New York Times, March 22, 1998)
3) ... Unpoisoned by the mephitic vapours which poisoned the atmosphere of his police-office. (Henry Fielding, "Tom Jones")
Etymology:
"Mephitic" is the adjective form of "mephitis" ("a foul-smelling or noxious exhalation from the earth; a stench from any source"), from the Latin.


mess with

• mess with smb.
• mess with smth.
• mess
• bug smb.

To become involved with, to start with; to cause problems; to challenge, to fight with, to mix it up with; to annoy, to argue with; to hassle, or otherwise anger and irritate a person.
Examples:
1) We learned not to mess with the Mafia. Their revenge is deadly.
2) Don't even think of messing with the new teacher. She's tough.
History, synonym:
This modern African-American expression is similar in meaning to 'bug someone". "To mess" is to butt into other people's business or interfere with other people's lives.


metier

• employment
• occupation
• calling

[met-YAY; MET-yay]
1. An occupation; a profession; vocation, trade
2. An area of activity in which one excels; an occupation for which one is especially well suited; forte.
Examples:
1) The pairing of Maynard and Salinger - the writer whose metier is autobiography and the writer who's so private he won't even publish - was an unlikely one. (Larissa MacFarquhar, "The Cult of Joyce Maynard," New York Times Magazine, September 6, 1998)
2) In Congress, I really found my metier.... I love to legislate. (Charles Schumer, "quoted in Upbeat Schumer Battles Poor Polls and Turnouts and His Own Image," New York Times, May 16, 1998)
3) He is in the position of a good production engineer suddenly shunted into salesmanship. It is not his metier. (James R. Mursell, "The Reform of the Schools," The Atlantic, December 1939)
4) Penelope dabbled in poetry for a while, but she eventually returned to writing novels, which was her true metier.
History, synonyms:
"Metier" is ultimately from Latin "ministerium" ("service, ministry, employment"), from "minister" ("a servant, a subordinate"). "Metier," a French borrowing acquired by English speakers in the 18th century, typically implies a calling for which one feels especially fitted. The words "metier," "employment," "occupation," and "calling" all perform similar functions in English, though each word gets the job done in its own way. These hard-working synonyms can all refer to a specific sustained activity, especially an activity engaged in to earn a living, but these words also have slightly different shades of meaning. "Employment" implies simply that one was hired and is being paid by an employer, whereas "occupation" usually suggests special training, and "calling" generally applies to an occupation viewed as a vocation or profession.


metonymy

• synecdoche

[muh-TAH-nuh-mee]
A figure of speech consisting of the use of the name of one thing for that of another of which it is an attribute or with which it is associated.
Example:
American journalists employ metonymy whenever they say "the White House" in place of "the president and his administration."
Etymology, more examples, related words:
When Mark Antony asks the people of Rome to lend him their ears in William Shakespeare's play "Julius Caesar", he is employing the rhetorical device known as metonymy. Derived via Latin from the Greek "metonymia" (from "meta-," meaning "among, with, after" and "onyma," meaning "name"), metonymy often appears in news articles and headlines, such as when journalists use the term "crown" to refer to a king or queen. Another common example is the use of an author's name to refer to works written by that person, as in "He is studying Hemingway". Metonymy is closely related to synecdoche, which refers to the naming of a part of something to refer to the whole thing (or vice versa), as in "We hired extra hands to help us".


metrosexual

• metrosexuality

a fashion-conscious heterosexual male, or, as Mark Simpson put it, a man who "has clearly taken himself as his own love object".
Example:
According to the experts, this guy lives near the city, uses beauty products, fancies Kylie Minogue but would never cheat on his partner. How do you spot this paragon of virtue? The Metrosexual will, they say, possess at least one salmon pink shirt. ("Mirror", 19 June 2003)
Etymology & History:
This word has been around since at least the mid-1990s, and was first used to describe urban (and urbane) young men who were self-indulgent, even narcissistic, and who were interested in fashion and beauty. It has been reinvented with a twist. The story is that 21st-century man has become neutered and insecure as a result of the rise of female power in the workplace. Straight men, happily married but confused by the new gender equality (and by a barrage of comment saying theyre useless and obsolete), are turning to methods more traditionally associated with women, such as power dressing and beauty treatments, to assert themselves. Metrosexual man, the theory goes, wants to be thought of as caring, nurturing and open-minded, while rejecting many traditional male virtues. At least, this is what Marian Salzman, American guru of futurology, is suggesting, although her thesis is derided by other futurologists, who say that the way that some men feel at the moment is merely part of a realignment of gender roles that hasnt yet worked its way to a conclusion.


metrosexuality

• metrosexual

the characteristic of heterosexual men who spend time and money on their appearance and enjoy shopping
Example:
Last week ace trend spotter Marian Salzman of the advertising agency Euro RCSG Worldwide identified Beckham-who likes to say how comfortable he is with his feminine side and who has been known to wear a sarong - as the epitome of metrosexuality... ("Time", 30 June 2003)

mettle

• stamina
• spirit
• Metal

1. Vigor and strength of spirit or temperament; staying quality.
Examples:
1) The rough trail is challenging enough to test the mettle of even the strongest and most experienced mountain biker.
2) The winged courser, like a generous horse, shows most true mettle when you check his course.
Synonyms: stamina; spirit.
3. Quality of temperament or disposition.
Etymology:
Originally, "mettle" was simply a variant spelling of the word "metal" (which dates to at least the 14th century), and it was used in all of the same senses as its metallic relative. Over time, however, "mettle" came to be used mainly in figurative senses referring to the quality of someone's character. It eventually became a distinct English word in its own right, losing its literal sense altogether. "Metal" remained a term primarily used for those hard shiny substances such as steel or iron, but it also acquired a figurative use. Today, both words can mean "vigor and strength of spirit or temperament", but only "metal" is used of metallic substances.


mettlesome

• spirited
• metalsome

[MET-ul-sum]
Full of vigor and stamina.
Synonym: spirited.
Example:
The mettlesome bronco kicked and bucked, but the rider kept his balance and rode him out.
History, related words:
The 17th-century adjective "mettlesome" (popularly used of spirited horses) sometimes appeared as the variant "metalsome." That's not surprising. In the 16th century and for some time after, "mettle" was a variant spelling of "metal" - that is, the word for substances such as gold, copper, and iron. ("Metal" itself dates from the 14th century and descends from a Greek term meaning "mine" or "metal.") The 16th century was also when "metal" - or "mettle" - acquired the figurative sense of "spirit," "courage," or "stamina." However, by the early 18th century, dictionaries were noting the distinction between "metal," used for the substance, and "mettle," used for "spirit," so that nowadays the words "mettle" and "mettlesome" are rarely associated with "metal."


mgd
(SMS) my gameboy died


micro-wind turbine

• microwind turbine
• micro-wind
• turbine
• microwind
• wind turbine
• wind

A compact version of a wind turbine - a wind-driven turbine for generating electricity.
Example:
Existing mini-turbines sit on a pole at the bottom of the garden and are useless for townies. However, new micro-wind turbines, no bigger than a TV aerial or satellite dish, which can be mounted on a roof, are expected to be available from the middle of next year. (The "Guardian", 20 Nov. 2004)
History:
When we think of wind turbines, the image is usually of a monster windmill on a windy hilltop, generating megawatts of electricity. But as one element of a variety of schemes to make our houses more energy-efficient - along with good insulation, combined heat and power gas central heating, and solar panels - comes the micro-wind turbine. This is a tiny version of its big brother, one that can be fixed to a convenient chimney or roof. They've been around for ages on sailing boats and in some countries, especially the USA, have become popular in rural areas away from power supplies as ways of powering devices such as electric fences or public telephones. But recently they have started to be promoted for domestic use in urban areas in countries such as Britain. Objectors argue that it takes too long to get back the cost of installation and that high average wind speeds are required, which are often not available in heavily built-up areas.

microburst
[MY-kroh-burst]
A violent short-lived localized downdraft that creates extreme wind shears at low altitudes and is usually associated with thunderstorms.
Example:
During thunderstorm season, microbursts as strong as 50 miles per hour can cause almost as much damage to crops and structures as a full-force hurricane.
History:
"Micro" ("tiny, very small; enlarging") + "burst" ("eruption; gush, spurt; volley of gunshots").
Credit for the invention of the word "microburst" is generally given to tornado expert Tetsuya Theodore Fujita. Fujita first described these extremely intense wind patterns in 1974. He noted that microbursts are usually short-lived, lasting only 5 to 15 minutes, but that they are extremely dangerous, especially for aircraft, because they cause sudden unexpected changes in wind direction or speed. Since the mid-1970s, many airports have installed Doppler radar systems to help them detect potentially deadly microbursts.


microcosm

• macrocosm

[MY-kruh-koz-uhm] 1. A little world; hence, man or human nature as a supposed epitome of the world or universe (compare with its antonym: "macrocosm"). 2. A smaller, representative system having analogies to a larger system.
Examples:
1) The monarch and his followers thought of the court as a microcosm of how the kingdom ought to be, the harmonious expression of a social order centred on the monarch. (John Brewer, "The Pleasures of the Imagination")
2) There is a classic Jimmy Stewart movie, "Magic Town", about "Grandview," a small town in the Midwest that is a perfect statistical microcosm of the United States, a place where the citizens' opinions match perfectly with Gallup polls of the entire nation. (James S. Fishkin, "The Voice of the People")
3) New York saw itself as a quasi-independent political and cultural entity that was both a microcosm of and a model for the nation as a whole. (Robert A. M. Stern, "New York 1880")
Etymology:
"Microcosm" comes from Greek "mikros kosmos" ("small world").

mien

• bearing
• demeanor

[MEEN]
1. Manner, air or bearing, especially as expressive of mood, attitude, or personality; demeanor.
2. Aspect; appearance.
Examples:
1) He raised and answered the question with the dispassionate mien of a professor advising a student on a course of study. (Edith Anderson, "Love in Exile")
2) For her part, Amy soon learned to cloak her self-assurance and pride in her achievements in a modest mien. (Adrienne Fried Block, "Amy Beach: Passionate Victorian")
3) Here Mnemosyne shows her true face, and she is no young beauty. Not for her the unlined mien of the younger Muses. (Vera Schwarcz, "Bridge Across Broken Time")
4) Professor Hart's cool and gallant mien was appealing to some students and off-putting to others.
History, related words, synonyms, more examples:
Like its synonyms "bearing" and "demeanor," "mien" means the outward manifestation of personality or attitude. "Bearing" is the most general, but now usually implies characteristic posture, as in "a woman of regal bearing." "Demeanor" suggests attitude expressed through outward behavior in the presence of others; for example, "the manager's professional demeanor." "Mien" is a somewhat literary term referring to both bearing and demeanor. "A mien of supreme self-satisfaction" is a typical use. "Mien" and "demeanor" are also linked through etymology. "Mien" arose through the shortening and alteration of the verb "demean," which is also the root of "demeanor." Perhaps it derives from French "mine" ("bearing, expression"), from Breton "min" ("beak, snout," hence "a person's face"). (In this case, "demean" means "to conduct or behave (oneself) usually in a proper manner," not "to degrade." That other "demean" is a distinct word with a different etymology.)


milieu

• milieus
• milieux
• environment
• scene
• setting
• sphere
• surroundings

[meel-YUH; meel-YOO]
plural: milieus or milieux [-(z)]
Environment; setting.
Synonyms: environment, scene, setting, sphere, surroundings.
Examples:
1) These were agricultural areas, populated with prosperous farming families and rural artisans - a completely different milieu from the Monferrands', which was more closed, more cultured, but less affluent. (Antoine de Baecque and Serge Toubiana, "Truffaut")
2) Half a century later, Zacar?as still remembers... how they all played together without distinctions or hierarchy, and how easily Ernesto related to people from different social and cultural milieux. (Jorge G. Castaneda, "Compa?ero")
3) They write about their milieux, about where they live and work, and it can be fabulous. (Leslie Schenk, "Celebrating Mavis Gallant," World Literature Today, Winter 1998)
Etymology:
"Milieu" is from French, from Old French, from "mi" ("middle", from Latin "medius") + "lieu" ("place", from Latin "locus").


militate
[MIL-ih-tayt]
To have force or influence.
Examples:
1) In our current era of politics, many factors militate against changes in policies. (Reed Hundt, "You Say You Want a Revolution")
2) Even though Simpson's youth, limited professional experience, lack of reputation, unmarried status, and modest social origins all militated against success, the twenty-eight-year-old Simpson applied for the post. (Donald Caton, "What a Blessing She Had Chloroform")
3) By 2003 many of the uncertainties which militate against a "yes" might be resolved. (Anatole Kaletsky, "Why Brown is right to put off the euro test," Times (London), June 21, 2001)
Etymology:
"Militate" comes from Latin "militatus", past participle of "militare" - "to serve as a soldier", from "miles", "milit-" ("a soldier").


millefleur

• millefiori

[meel-FLUR]
Having an allover pattern of small flowers and plants.
Example:
Among the works to be exhibited are a 15th-century Flemish millefleur tapestry... (Devorah L. Knaff, "Press Enterprise" [Riverside, CA], April 27, 2003)
Etymology, a related word:
"Millefleur" came into French from the Latin "mille florae" and from French directly into English. Although the literal meaning of "mille florae" is "a thousand flowers," it is easy to see how "millefleur" came to be applied to a style of artistic expression featuring a pattern or background of many tiny flowers or plants. A similarly colorful extension of "a thousand flowers" can be seen in the word "millefiori". That term, which refers to ornamental glass characterized by multicolored flower-like designs, comes from "mille fiori," the Italian phrase meaning "a thousand flowers."


milquetoast

• milk toast
• milk
• toast

[MILK-toast]
A timid, meek, or unassertive person.
Example:
Brian was such a milquetoast that he agreed to work extra hours on Sunday even though he had already told his boss that he needed that day off.
Etymology:
Caspar Milquetoast was a comic strip character created in 1924 by the American cartoonist Harold T. Webster. The strip, called "The Timid Soul," ran every Sunday in the "New York Herald Tribune" for many years. Webster, who claimed that Milquetoast was a self-portrait, summed up the character as "the man who speaks softly and gets hit with a big stick". The earliest examples we could find for "Milquetoast" used as a generic synonym for "timid person" date from the mid-1930s. Caspar's last name might remind you of "milk toast", a bland concoction of buttered toast served in a dish of warm milk.


mimsy

• mimsey
• mimzy
• mimp
• miminy-piminy
• niminy-piminy
• mim
• mim-mouthed
• mim-mouth

1. Prim or affected; over-refined; mincing.
2. Unhappy (by Lewis Carroll).
Example:
"All mimsy were the borogoves". (Jabberwocky in "Through the Looking-Glass" by Lewis Carroll)
History, etymology, examples:
Humpty-Dumpty ("Through the Looking-Glass" by Lewis Carroll) explains the meaning of the word as being a blend (he calls it "a portmanteau word") of "flimsy" and "miserable", so meaning "unhappy". Carroll either invented it afresh or borrowed an existing English dialect word and gave it a new meaning. In the sense of affected or over-refined, "mimsy" has long been known in the British Isles, especially in Scots and northern dialects; an example is in "A Rock in the Baltic", by Robert Barr (1906): "In one corner of the room stood a sewing-machine, and on the long table were piles of mimsy stuff out of which feminine creations are constructed." It's known in other spellings, such as "mimsey" and "mimzy"; "mimp" is closely related; an elaborated version is "miminy-piminy" or "niminy-piminy". All forms seem to be built on "mim". This little word may come from an imitation of pursing up the mouth in prudishness (a related form is "mim-mouthed", affectedly prim and proper in speech, which appears in "Virginibus Puerisque", by Robert Louis Stevenson, published in 1881: "Mim-mouthed friends and relations hold up their hands in quite a little elegiacal synod about his path: and what cares he for all this?"). "Mimsy" is far from dead. The issue of The Medical Post for 6 January 2004 (published in Toronto, but the writer was remembering his childhood in Scotland) reads: "Certainly if I had been drafted into the Armed Forces I would have been streets ahead of these mimsy Boy Scouts with their cowboy hats and their two-fingered apology for a salute." It also appeared in an article by Griff Rhys Jones in the Independent on 24 October 2003: "This is food writing. Not mimsy pseudo-porn, but genuinely funny gastro-investigation driven by a slavering appetite."


mince words

• mince word
• mince
• word
• words
• mince matters
• matter
• matters

To not come right to the point and be honest; to use mild or vague words so as
not to offend or hurt someone; to say gently, to say something in a soft manner, to soften things; to say nice words when complaining.
Examples:
1) When Greta is angry she doesn't mince words. She tells you what is bothering her, calling a spade a spade.
2) Please don't mince words. Tell me exactly what you think of my painting.
History, related expression:
William Shakespeare used this expression in some of his plays in the late 1500s, but it might have been in use before that. Originally "mince" meant to soften or lessen the force of certain words in order to be polite. Today, if you mince words or mince matters, you are not being honest and open.

mind over matter

• mind over
• matter
• mind
• over

Believing you can do it, using the mind's power; the power of your mind is stronger than the body.
Examples:
1) When your brain controls your heart rate, it's mind over matter.
2) Nancy ran in the track meet with a twisted ankle - a perfect example of mind over matters.
History:
Virgil, a Roman poet who was born in 70 B.C., used this expression in his famous poem, the "Aeneid". "Mind" means brain, thoughts, and willpower. "Matter" means a physical object, and it can also mean trouble or difficulty. Notice also that "mind" and "matter" both begin with "m", and alliteration helps make a saying more popular.


misanthrope

• misogamy
• misogyny
• misology
• misoneism
• philanthropy

[MISS-un-throhp]
A person who hates or distrusts humankind.
Example:
Moliere's 1666 satiric comedy "Le Misanthrope" portrays the life of Alceste, a misanthrope who is completely intolerant of society and everyone in it.
Etymology, related words:
The word "misanthrope" is human to the core. Literally. One of its parents is the Greek noun "anthropos," meaning "human being." Its other parent is the Greek verb "misein," meaning "to hate." "Misein" also gave English "misogamy" ("a hatred of marriage"), "misogyny" ("hatred of women"), "misology" ("a hatred of argument, reasoning, or enlightenment"), and "misoneism" ("a hatred, fear, or intolerance of innovation or change"). "Anthropos" joined forces with "phil-" (a combining form meaning "loving") to form the Greek ancestor of "philanthropy" ("active effort to help other people"). We also dig up "anthropos" when we excavate the foundations of the word "anthropology."


misbegotten

• beget

[miss-bih-GAH-tun]
1. Unlawfully conceived; illegitimate.
2. Having a disreputable or improper origin.
3. Contemptible, deformed.
Example:
"I think I've disproven that misbegotten notion that blondes aren't smart," said Susan of her perfect grade point average.
Etymology; related words:
In the beginning, there was "bigietan," and "bigietan" begot "beyeten," and in the days of Middle English "beyeten" begot "begeten," and from thence sprung "misbegotten." That's a bit flowery, but it accurately traces the path that led to "misbegotten." All of the Old English and Middle English ancestors listed above basically mean the same thing as the modern "beget," that is, "to father" or "to produce as an effect or outgrowth." That linguistic line brought forth "misbegotten" by adding the prefix "mis-" (meaning "wrong," "bad," or "not") in the mid-1500s.


misgender
to mistake a man for a woman or vice versa.
Example:
A friend informs me I have misgendered you.
Etymology:
"mis-", prefix meaning "bad, wrong" (from O.E. mis-; others see in P.Gmc. *missa- the stem of an ancient pp., related to O.E. missan "fail to hit"; represents O.Fr. mes- "bad(ly), wrong(ly)," from V.L. minus-, from L. minus "less") + "gender" (c.1300, from O.Fr. gendre, from stem of L. genus (gen. generis) "kind, sort, gender," also "sex" (see genus); used to translate from Gk. Aristotle's grammatical term genos; as sex took on erotic qualities in 20c., gender came to be used for "sex of a human being," often in feminist writing with reference to social attributes as much as biological qualities; this sense first attested 1963; gender-bender is first attested 1980, with reference to pop star David Bowie).




misprision

• misprision of treason
• treason

1. a) neglect or wrong performance of official duty
Example:
"The republic somehow manages to wend its erratic way through the cycles of history in spite of human folly and misprision." (Tommy Denton, "Roanoke Times & World News", December 17, 2000)
1. b) concealment of treason or felony by one who is not a participant in the treason or felony
1. c) seditious conduct against the government or the courts
2. misunderstanding, misinterpretation
Etymology:
1425, from Anglo-Fr. "mesprisioun" ("mistake, error, wrong action or speech"), from O.Fr. "mespris", pp. of "mesprendre" ("to mistake, act wrongly"), from "mes-" ("wrongly") + "prendre" ("take"), from Latin "prendere", contracted from "prehendere" ("seize"). In 16c., "misprision of treason" was used for lesser degrees of guilt (those not subject to capital punishment), esp. for knowing of treasonable actions or plots but not informing the authorities. This led to the common supposition in legal writers that the word means "failure to denounce" a crime.


misprize
1. To hold in contempt.
2. To undervalue.
Examples:
1) I hesitate to appear to misprize my native city, but how can the history of dear, sedate old London town possibly compare to Paris for sheer excitement? (Alistair Horne, "Seven Ages of Paris")
2) Or did he misprize such fidelity and harden his heart against so great a love as hers? (Ludovico Ariosto, "Orlando Furioso", translated by Guido Waldman)
3) Alternatively, when disagreements are noticed, they may by chance be overemphasized by those who misprize their significance by failing to assess the pressure exerted by economic and institutional factors as opposed to the purely intellectual. (Ellen Handler Spitz, "Warrant for trespass/ permission to peer," The Art Bulletin, December 1, 1995)
Etymology:
"Misprize" comes from Middle French "mesprisier", from "mes-" ("amiss, wrong") + "prisier" ("to appraise").


miss the boat

• miss
• boat

To lose an opportunity; to arrive too late and miss out on something.
Examples:
1) You had better hurry and get your application in or you will miss the boat on entering that new company.
2) If you're late to the interview, you'll miss the boat for the job.
History:
This expression has been used by many people since about 1900s, when there were no airplanes and many people traveled to far-off places by boat. If you arrived at the dock after the boat had sailed because you lost track of time, overslept, or were delayed, then you missed out.


mitigate

• militate
• mitigate against

[MIT-uh-gayt]
1. To cause to become less harsh or hostile; mollify.
2. To make less severe or painful; alleviate.
3. To extenuate.
Example:
Gordon was determined to help mitigate the suffering of the people in the tornado-ravaged area.
Etymology, synonyms, difference, examples:
Would it be correct to say, "His boyish appearance mitigated against his getting an early promotion"? Most usage commentators would say "no." They feel such examples demonstrate a long-standing confusion between "mitigate" and the look-alike "militate." Those two words are not closely related etymologically ("mitigate" descends from the Latin verb "mitigare," meaning "to soften," whereas "militate" traces to "militare," another Latin verb that means "to engage in warfare"), nor are they particularly close in meaning ("militate" means "to have weight or effect"). The confusion between the two has existed for long enough that one commentator thinks "mitigate against" should be accepted as an idiomatic alternative to "militate," but if you want to avoid criticism, you should keep "mitigate" and "militate" distinct.


mobile speed bump

• mobile bump
• mobile
• speed bump
• speed
• bump

A car that travels at the speed limit to force the cars behind to do the same.
Examples:
1) The city of Vancouver is exploring the idea of sanctioning a grass-roots traffic-calming program that enlists the silent majority of reasonable, rational, law-abiding drivers to stop being so silent. Instead they'd slap NEIGHBORHOOD PACE CAR stickers on their vehicles and set a highly visible example by rolling down Vancouver streets at lawful speeds. Yes, you heard right: Making Vancouver streets safer simply by making a public point of driving the posted speed limit. (Scott Hewitt, "How'd you like to be a mobile speed bump?", The Columbian (Vancouver, WA), November 27, 2003)
2) Elaine Clegg of Idaho Smart Growth, which runs Boise's Neighborhood Pace Car program, calls herself "a mobile speed bump". She slows cars driving behind her by driving the speed limit. A sense of humor is required, she says. The Idaho program has bumper stickers saying "Follow me to the next red light," "Would you rather I were a speed bump?" and "Honk if you want me to slow down." So far, about 500 residents have joined the Boise program by signing a pledge and putting Pace Car stickers on their cars. (Patrick McMahon, "Residents fight back against speeders", USA Today, May 13, 2002)
3) Want to slow down traffic on your street? Try a leisurely drive during rush hour. Boise, Idaho, residents did that through their PACE CAR program. They turned their cars into "mobile speed bumps" by purposefully driving the speed limit, forcing trailing drivers to ease off the accelerator. (Toni Coleman, "Seminar to focus on 'calming' traffic," Saint Paul Pioneer Press (Minnesota), May 14, 2001)


mobisode
A cut down version of a popular television series made especially for mobile phones, created by partner "20th Century Fox"; a specially created mini-television series suitable for showing on the two-inch phone screen of these new handsets.
Examples:
1) "24: Conspiracy" will give 24 fans the opportunity to race from their TV sets every week to their cell phones to catch the latest "mobisode".
2) Vodafone will begin offering the one-minute episodes in January in the United Kingdom. The 'mobisodes,' as they're being called, will be introduced later in 2005 in up to 23 more countries where Vodafone operates, mainly in Europe, as well as in the United States through the company's Verizon Wireless joint venture. (The "Toronto Star", 12 Nov. 2004)
3) Vodafone also plans to introduce a 'Mobisodes' service next year, in cooperation with 20th Century Fox, providing short, made-for- mobile episodes related to television series like '24.' While these will feature exclusive content, Vodafone acknowledges that a major goal is to generate viewers for the TV show. (The "International Herald Tribune", 11 Nov. 2004)
History: It's a new word invented by the mobile telephone firm "Vodaphone" that reached many newspaper columns in November 2004, though whether it will become a usual term is open to doubt (but "Fox" has already trademarked the term). It was used in a press release that also announced that the firm has launched its 3G (third-generation) mobile phone service in the UK and Europe. A "mobisode" ("mobile" + "episode") is a specially created mini-television series suitable for showing on the two-inch phone screen of these new handsets. "Vodaphone" has signed a deal with Fox in the USA to produce 24 one-minute spin-off episodes of its drama 24 with a parallel sub-plot under the title "24: Conspiracy". Many other providers are also being signed up to provide video services, especially sports and news organisations.


modicum

• small quantity
• trace
• hint
• speck
• jot
• iota

[MOD-ih-kum]
A small or moderate or token amount.
Synonyms: small quantity, trace, hint, speck, jot, iota.
Examples:
1) Abraham Lincoln's childhood education, conducted almost entirely by himself, with only a modicum of schooling, is one of the most familiar stories in American history. (Douglas L. Wilson, "Honor's Voice")
2) Ruth worked in the sociology department which had a garden in an internal courtyard that gave the place a modicum of charm. (Gillian Slovo, "Every Secret Thing")
3) While he derived a modicum of pleasure from his son's rambunctiousness, he was also disturbed by it. (Jonah Raskin, "For the Hell of It")
Etymology:
"Modicum" is from Latin "modicus" ("moderate"), from "modus" ("measure").


mogul

• Great Mogul
• Great

[MOH-gul]
1. (Capitalized) An Indian Muslim of or descended from one of several conquering groups of Mongol, Turkish, and Persian origin; especially: Great Mogul.
2. A great personage; magnate.
Example:
The media mogul owned such a large number of newspapers and television stations across the country that his influence on political discourse could not be denied..
History, related words & expressions:
Started by Babur, a descendant of Genghis Khan, the Muslim Mogul dynasty ruled much of India from the early 16th century to the mid-18th century. The Moguls were known for their talented and powerful rulers (called "Great Moguls"), so it's no surprise that in English the word "mogul" came to denote a powerful person, as in our frequent references to "movie moguls," "industry moguls," and the like. Skiers might wonder if such power moguls have anything to do with the name they use for a bump in a ski run, but that hilly homonym has nothing to do with Asian Mogul dynasties. We picked up the skier's "mogul" from a German dialect root that is probably related to the Viennese "mugl," meaning "small hill."


moiety
[MOY-uh-tee]
1. One of two equal parts; a half.
2. An indefinite part; a small portion or share.
3. One of two basic tribal subdivisions.
Examples:
1) Tom divided the cake and Becky ate with good appetite, while Tom nibbled at his moiety. (Mark Twain, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer")
2) Cut off from news at home, fearful of a blood bath, anxious to salvage a moiety of the reform program, the Prague leadership accepted Moscow's diktat. (Karl E. Meyer, "Pangloss in Prague," New York Times, June 27, 1993)
3) Barunga society is sharply divided into two complementary, descent-based branches (a structure anthropologists call "moiety"), which permeate relationships, spirituality, and many other aspects of life. (Claire Smith, "Art of The Dreaming," Discovering Archaeology, March/April 2000)
Etymology:
"Moiety" comes from Old French "meitiet", from Late Latin "medietas", from Latin "medius" - "middle."


moil
[MOYL]
1. To work with painful effort; to labor; to toil; to drudge.
2. To churn or swirl about continuously.
3. Toil; hard work; drudgery.
4. Confusion; turmoil.
Examples:
1) Why should he toil and moil, and be at so much trouble to pick himself up out the mud, when, in a little while hence, the strong arm of his Uncle will raise and support him? (Nathaniel Hawthorne, "The Scarlet Letter")
2) [H]e saw himself in the sleepless moil of early parenthood, and felt a plunging anxiety. (Alan Hollinghurst, "The Spell")
Etymology:
"Moil" comes from Middle English "moillen" - "to soak, to wet," hence "to soil, to soil one's hands, to work very hard," from Old French "moillier" - "to soften, especially by making wet," ultimately from Latin "mollis" - "soft."


moke

• mook

1. (BrE) donkey or mule (first recorded in the 1830s but probably a lot older);
2. (AustrE) inferior horse;
Slang:
3. (AmE) an offensive term for a black person (obviously taken from the earlier animal meaning);
4. (By the 1850s) some foolish or contemptible person, or more simply, just somebody you dislike.
Synonym: mook.
Probable etymology:
It wouldnt be altogether surprising to hear that jamoke has evolved further and been abbreviated to moke and then mook. Its also likely that the two terms have influenced each other. But certainly they started out distinct.


molecular gastronomy

• molecular
• gastronomy

A branch of food science that focuses on cooking and food preparation (rather than on the chemical makeup of food, as traditional food science tends to do). It's based on modern knowledge of the way that the brain interprets smell and taste and challenges traditional perceptions and customs about what makes a dish worth eating.
Examples:
1) Would you eat cockles coated with white chocolate? Or garlic and coffee creme brul?e? Or egg and bacon ice cream with tomato jam? Or dark chocolate petit fours infused with pipe tobacco? These are among the odd-sounding food combinations that have been tried by chefs experimenting with a scientific approach to cooking and food preparation called "molecular gastronomy". (Michael Quinion, "World Wide Words", 15 May 2004)
2) ...The Fat Duck's second place also represents a personal victory for Blumenthal, 37, who is credited with turning cooking into a subject of interest as much to physicists as gastronomes by dint of his trademark technique, known as "molecular gastronomy". ("Independent", 21 Apr. 2004)
3) The late Nicholas Kurti, a physicist in an elite field called molecular gastronomy, argued that the best way to cook a perfect three-minute egg is to cook it for one hour at 140F. ("Toronto Star", 7 Apr. 2004)
History:
The term is best known in the UK, since it's closely linked with chef Heston Blumenthal at his restaurant "The Fat Duck" in Berkshire. He works with specialists such as the physicist Peter Barham to test various factors in food preparation, for example, how changes in technique alter the texture of a food or what happens when you cook meat at a much lower temperature than usual. The term, for which a more appetising alternative could surely have been found, actually goes back to the 1980s, having been coined by the French scientist Hervé This, and Nicholas Kurti, who was a professor of physics at Oxford University in England. Both men were interested in food science, but they felt that empirical knowledge and tradition were as important in cooking as rational understanding. "The Fat Duck" must be doing something right, since it has recently been awarded three Michelin stars, one of only two restaurants in Britain to have them.



mom and pop

• mom
• pop
• ma-and-pa
• ma
• pa

Also:
mom-and-pop; ma-and-pa
1. Something that is small and simple, particularly a business that is owned and operated by a family, especially by a husband and wife; small-scale.
Examples:
1) I prefer local mom and pop stores to the big national chains. 2) Convenience stores are often mom and pop businesses.
Synonym:
family-run
2. friendly, relaxed, and pleasantly informal
Etymology: The idea behind this phrase is that something is so small that a husband and wife team can operate it on their own.


monger
[MUNG-gur]
1. A broker, dealer (usually used in combination, e.g. "rumormonger").
2. A person who attempts to stir up or spread something that is usually petty or discreditable - usually used in combination.
Example:
According to reports, the singer and actress were involved in a hot romance, but the rumormongers had it wrong - the two were just good friends.
Etymology:
Peddlers (especially fish merchants) have been called "mongers" for more than 1000 years. The term traces to a Latin noun meaning "trader." Initially, it was an honorable term, but every profession has its bad apples, and the snake-oil salesmen of the bunch gave "monger" a bad reputation. By the middle of the 16th century, the term implied that a merchant was dishonorable and contemptible. Nowadays, "monger" can be combined with just about anything to identify one who specializes in fast trades and loose deals, whether they be rumormongers, scandalmongers, hypemongers, or even miraclemongers.


monkey around

• monkey
• around
• screw around
• goof off
• screw
• goof

1. To waste time playing or loafing.
Example: Stop monkeying around - your term paper is due in two hours!
Etymology: Monkeys love to play, but they aren't very good at productive labor.
Synonyms: screw around, goof off.
2. To tinker with something; to try to operate or fix something, but without serious effort or success.
Example: Don't monkey around with the remote control - you'll probably break it.


monkey business

• monkey
• business
• monkeyshines
• monkeyshine

1. Dubious activities, dishonest or illegal business.
2. Fooling around, silly games; idiotic pranks; nonsense, foolishness, funny stuff.
Examples:
1) I've had enough of your monkey business. No more foolishness.
2) No more monkey business! Settle down.
History, synonym:
This expression has two meanings. One concerns comical behavior like that of a playful monkey. The other refers to sneaky, unlawful actions. So a student could be sent to the principal's office for monkey business, and a politician can be sent to jail for monkey business. This idiom, from 20th-century America, is like many other expressions that relate human behavior to animal behavior ("sly as a fox," "wise as an owl", and so on), and probably comes from an older expression, "monkeyshines," which dates from the 1820s.