mean business
To be serious and determined in one's intentions or actions
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mean machine
A fast car.
mean streak
A tendency to be unkind or cruel
mean the world to
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
mean to do something
intend to do something
mean white
A term of contempt among negroes, in the old slavery days, for white men without landed property. A white man in the Southern States had no locus standi unless he possessed property, and the blackest of niggers would have felt insulted at any "poor white trash" claiming to be "a man and brother."
Means Test
By the 1934 revision of the Unemployment Act, the claimant for insurance benefit was called upon to undergo an inquisition, known as the Means Test, and furnish information as to the total amount of money coming into the household from any source whatsoever, thus laying before the officials the private affairs of every member of his family.
meant to
intended or expected to happen or be done
measley
Mean, miserable-looking, "seedy;" "what a MEASLEY-looking man!" i.e., what a wretched, unhappy fellow.
Measure for Measure
The plot of Shake- speare's play (acted 1604, first printed 1623) is founded on Whetstone's Promos and Cassandra (1582), which was taken from the 85th tale in Cinthio's Hecatommithi (1565). Promos is called by Shakespeare, "Lord Angelo"; and Cassandra is "Isabella." Her brother, called by Shakespeare "Claudio," is named Andrugjo in the story.
measure swords with
To engage in a competition or comparison to determine superiority
measure the drapes
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
measure up
Meet the required standards or expectations
meat and potatoes
the basic or fundamental parts of something
meat market
A place where people are treated as commodities
meat on one's bones
Having a healthy or normal weight
meat on the bones
Substantial or meaningful content
meat rack
A place where people go to show off their bodies
meat scepter
The penis.
meat stick
The penis.
meat sweats
Sweating due to eating too much rich or spicy food
meatbag
A stomach.
Mecklenberg Declaration
The first declaration of independence in the U.S.A., made at Mecklenberg, N. Carolina, on May 20th, 1775.
Medal of Honor
A U.S.A. medal awarded by Congress to soldiers, sailors, and marines who have shown conspicuous gallantry in the face of the enemy and have risked their lives beyond any call that duty may have made upon their services.
media darling
A person who is frequently featured and admired in the media
medical greek
The slang used by medical students at the hospitals. At the London University they have a way of disguising English, described by Albert Smith as the Gower Street Dialect, which consists in transposing the initials of words, e.g., "poke a smipe"—smoke a pipe; "flutter-by"—butterfly, &c. This disagreeable nonsense, which has not even the recommendation of a little ability in its composition, is often termed Marrowskying. See GREEK, ST.
medical number
In the Pythagorean system (see above), 7. Number of the Beast, The. 666 ; a mystical number of unknown meaning but referring to some man mentioned by St John.
medicinal days
In ancient practice the sixth, eighth, tenth, twelfth, sixteenth, eighteenth, etc., of a disease; so called because, according to Hippocrates, no "crisis" (#.v.) occurs on these days, and medicine may be safely administered.
medicine ball
A large, leather-covered ball — usually of some weight — tossed from one person to another as a form of exercise.
medicine lodge
A tent or other form of structure used by North American Indians for ceremonial purposes.
medlar
A fruit, vulgarly called an open a-se; of which it is more truly than delicately said, that it is never ripe till it is as rotten as a t--d, and then it is not worth a f--t.
meek and mild
Gentle and unassertive
meet a sticky end
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
meet and greet
Informally welcome and introduce people to each other
meet halfway
Compromise by finding a middle ground
meet one's maker
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
meeting of the mindless
A gathering of people who lack intelligent or thoughtful discussion
meeting of the minds
A mutual understanding or agreement between people
meg
a dollar
megahurt
megahertz.
Mein Kampf
The political and half mystical thesis in which Adolf Hitler embodied his social and racial theories; his doctrine of anti-Semitism; and his call for revenge for the disasters of 1918 and the revision of the
meisensang
A missionary, Chinese pronunciation of the English word.—Anglo-Chinese.
Mel and Sue
British TV presenting duo
Melibosan Dye
A rich purple. Melibcea, in Thessaly, was famous for the ostrumt a fish used in dyeing purple.
Mell Supper
Harvest supper; in Scotland and the northern counties the last sheaf of corn cut is called the mell, and when the harvest is borne a woman carries a mell-doll* i.e. a straw image dressed up like a young girl, on top of a pole among the reapers.
melon head
a person with a large or foolish head
melt in the mouth
to be extremely delicious and tender
melt into
blend in or become part of something
melting moments
A fat man and woman in the amorous congress.
member for Barkshire
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
memory is the treasure of the mind
Recollections are a person's most valuable possession
memory lane
A nostalgic reminiscence of the past
men and women
People of both sexes
Men are blind in their own cause – Heywood Broun (1888–1939), American journalist
People are biased when it comes to their own interests
men get spoiled by staying, women get spoiled by wandering
Traditional English proverbial phrase; full definition pending editorial review.
men in buckram
Hypothetical men exist- ing only in the brain of the imagines The allusion is to the vaunting tale of Falstaff to Prince Henry (Shakespeare: 1 Henry IV, ii, 4). Hence, "a buckram army," one the strength of which exists only in the imagina- tion.
men leap over where the hedge is lower
People often take the easiest option or path of least resistance
men of kent
Men born east of the river Medway, who are said to have met the Conqueror in a body, each carrying a green bough in his hand, the whole appearing like a moving wood; and thereby obtaining a confirmation of their ancient privileges. The inhabitants of Kent are divided into Kentish men and men of Kent. Also a society held at the Fountain Tavern, Bartholomew Lane, A.D. 1743.
men of light and leading
Men capable of illuminating the way and guiding the steps of others.
men of straw
Hired bail, so called from having straw stuck in their shoes to distinguish them.
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