 A part of the forthcoming book, The Septic's Companion. A B C D E F G H I J K L MN O P Q R S T U V W Y Z   These are the last three beers people kinder than you bought me. Click on them to see more or buy me one. Feel guilty? Think of the children I might have, and such like. |
Mac n 1 (abbr. of "Macintosh") a light waterproof jacket which can usually be squashed up into an impressively small size for packing away. Possibly derived from the name of the gentleman who worked out how to infuse rubber and cloth. Americans call the same sort of thing a "slicker". 2 something along the lines of "mate". The two meanings appear together in the Bonzo Dog Doodah Band's song "Big Shot", which features the lines: "On the way home a punk stopped me: "You got a light, mac?" / I said "No, but I've got a dark brown overcoat". mad adj crazy. Brits do not use the term "mad" to refer to people who are pissed off. Describing something as "mad" (a party, or a weekend away or something) generally means it was riotous fun. manky adj gross; disgusting. The word is derived from the French "manqué", the past participal of "manquer" (to fail). manual gearbox n stick-shift transmission. The way God intended cars to be driven. Marmite n a sandwich spread based upon yeast extract. Similar to "Bovril", which is made from beef extract. Australians have a very similar spread called "Vegemite", which is a little less sharp in taste. marrow n. n. n squash. The vegetable. mate n good friend; buddy. It's in very common use in the UK and doesn't have any implication that you might want to mate with the person in question. It derives from "shipmate". maths n mathematics. How the Brits ended up with "maths" and the Americans ended up with "math", I've no idea. mean adj cheap; tight; stingy with money. Brits do not use the word to mean "nasty". So when a Brit talks about his auntie Enid being "mean", he's more likely to mean mean mean that she's sitting on a million pounds under her mattress rather than she tweaks his ears every time he goes to visit. mews n a short, narrow (often cobbled) street. It traditionally referred to a stable that had been converted into a house, but is now only used to refer to the sort of street they would have been on. Mews houses in central London tend to afford some peace and quiet, and are therefore highly sought after and breathtakingly expensive. mileometer n odometer. The thing that tells you how far you've gone in the car. A fairly antiquated term. mince pie n a sweet pie, traditionally served at Christmas, containing suet and mixed fruit. Not mincemeat. Step away from the mince pie. No mincemeat to see here. Traditionally they did contain mincemeat, as the easiest way to preserve meat was to mince it and then mix it with various fruits. Actually, that probably isn't the easiest way at all. The easiest way is probably to bury it in salt. Anyway - the animals having been slaughtered prior to the onset of winter, the mince pies were enjoyed at Christmas because the "preserved" meat was by then pretty much ready to walk out the door by itself. mind v watch out for: "mind the gap"; "mind your head whilst going down the stairs". minge n lady's front bottom. The etymology may be Romany. minger adj. Pron. "ming-er" someone breathtakingly unattractive: "she looked okay when we were in the bar, but when I woke up the next morning it turned out she was a complete minger". On fire and put out with a shovel, that sort of thing. mobile phone n cell phone. Can't think of anything witty. Tough shit. Move onto the next word. Get on with your life. moggy n cat. Implies a cat marginally more streetwise than your average "kitty". A cat which has graduated from the university of life, if you will. Mole grip n 1 one of those fiendishly complicated wrench-type devices which can have its tension adjusted by means of a screw on the handle end. Americans know them better as "vise grips", but it's probably safe to say that if you don't know what I'm talking about on either score then you are not going to live life at a great deficit. 2 popular sexual position. This is a joke. molly-coddled adj overly looked-after. Spoiled in a sort of posessive way: "he seemed very nice to start with but I think he's been rather molly-coddled by his mother". momentarily adj for a moment. Not to be confused with the US definition, "in a moment". I was alerted to this by a Brit who heard a station announcement in Chicago that his train would be "stopping momentarily at platform 6". moose n unattractive woman. Most often heard in post-drinking assessments: "Yeah, was a great night - we all got completely pissed and Bob ended up snogging a complete moose!". moreish adj provoking of further consumption. I once wrote that you'd never find this word in a dictionary, but I had to change when someone pointed out to me that it was in the OED. I hate you all. It means something (usually food) which leads you to want more - Jaffa Cakes, Jelly Babies or dry roasted peanuts would be some good personal examples. It's rather light-hearted; you wouldn't go around describing heroin as moreish, whether it is or not. motor n slang automobile. Derived from the time when all cars were known as "motor-cars". motorway n freeway. multi-storey car park n commercial car parking garage with, well, many floors. Americans call the same building a "parking ramp". mum n mom. Brits do also use the word in the American sense of "quiet" (as in "keep mum about that") though maybe not as much in everday speech as Americans. The'yd probably say "schtum" instead. munter n deeply unattractive woman. Pretty much equivalent to "dog" or "pig". muppet n dimwit: "you've left the handbrake off, you muppet".