mild
Preserved but no longer current.
Second-rate, inferior. See DRAW IT MILD. Also feeble, inefficient, as "a MILD attempt." Weak young men who keep bulldogs, and dress in a "loud" stable style, from a belief that it is very becoming, are sometimes called "MILD bloaters."
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “mild” mean?
Second-rate, inferior. See DRAW IT MILD. Also feeble, inefficient, as "a MILD attempt." Weak young men who keep bulldogs, and dress in a "loud" stable style, from a belief that it is very becoming, are sometimes called "MILD bloaters."
Is “mild” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.