Dictionary of Contemporary Slang (102 page)

1a.
American
an identification or instance of recognition (of a suspect)

1b.
American
a check in official records on the identity of a suspect or on another piece of evidence

Run a make on this guy, will you?
Can we have a make on the license number?

2.
a sex partner. The term is a back-formation from the sexual sense of the verb
make
, on the same principle as
lay
.

make
²
vb American

1.
to identify, recognise (a suspect or adversary). A piece of police and criminal jargon well known from its use in fiction, TV and films.

‘Can you make him?'
(
The French Connection
, US film, 1971)

2.
to have sex with, seduce. This euphemism from the turn of the 20th century, although understood, has never caught on in Britain or Australia. It has occasionally been adopted by individuals, including the philosopher Bertrand Russell.

make babies
vb

to have sex, make love. A coy or jocular euphemism used by adults.

make ends
vb American

to win, achieve success. The term, used by
rappers
and
hip hop
aficionados, is a triple pun: in slang
ends
denotes money, to ‘make ends' is, in the game of dominoes, to win, and the colloquial to ‘make ends meet' is sometimes a euphemism for to become wealthy.

make out
vb American

a.
to indulge in
necking
or heavy petting

b.
to succeed in having sex.

See also
make-out artist

Both are teenagers' extensions of the colloquial sense of the phrase; to be successful. The usage is probably influenced by the verb
make
as a euphemism for seduce or have sex with.

make-out artist
n American

a successful seducer,
stud
. The term is invariably applied to males. It is from the verb
make out
, meaning to achieve sexual satisfaction or success.

making sticky
n British

having sex. The expression is used by teenagers and on campus.

malco
n British

an unpleasant and/or obnoxious person. In playground usage since 2000 and also used by adults in the Liverpool area. It derives from ‘mal-coordinated'.

mallie, mall rat
n American

a (usually female) teenager who hangs around shopping malls in order to meet friends, misbehave and/or otherwise have a ‘good time'. A phenomenon and expression in existence since the early 1980s.

malteser
n

1.
an old or middle-aged male. This item of rhyming slang for
geezer
was quoted in
Private Eye
magazine, 6 May 1994, ascribed to Essex girls at Tramp nightclub who were referring derisively to the newspaper editor Andrew Neil.

2.
a black person who adopts or accepts white culture

‘What's wrong? This one's a racist and this one's a malteser.'
(
Grange Hill
, BBC TV series, February 1997)

mampy
¹
, manpy
adj

1.
British
ugly. This term, originating in black usage, was adopted as a vogue word by London schoolchildren from the 1990s, along with near-synonyms
mash-up
,
bruck(ers)
and
uggers
. Its precise etymology is uncertain.

2.
ruined, destroyed

mampy
²
n British

defined by a user in 2002 as ‘a
mashed(-up)
or fat person'

mams
n pl British

female breasts. A shortening of mammaries. The word has been used by adolescents of both sexes since 2000.

Man, the
n American

1a.
the police, the government, the (white) establishment or any other authority, or person in authority. A usage coined by underdogs which was taken up by the black power and
hippy
movements of the late 1960s.

‘Looking for a job in the city/Working for the Man ev'ry night and day.'
(
Proud Mary
, by John Fogerty, recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival, 1969)

1b.
a sports champion, pop singer, etc. considered by the speaker to be the top practitioner of his craft

There were a lot of good heavyweights around in the '60s, but Ali was the Man.

2.
a supplier of illicit drugs, a
pusher
,
dealer
or
connection

‘I'm waiting for my man/Twenty-six dollars in my hand.'
(
I'm Waiting for my Man
, written by Lou Reed, recorded by The Velvet Underground, 1967)

mandie, mandy
n British

a tablet of Mandrax (the British trademark name of methaqualone, a potentially addictive ‘hypnotic' sleeping preparation).

These drugs, like their American counterparts, Quaaludes or
'ludes
, were taken by drug abusers for their relaxant, disinhibiting and supposedly aphrodisiac effects.

‘The staff and editors of Oz wish to protest against the flippant attitude of our art director towards Mandrax in the caption above [“Mandies make you randy”]. Mandies are both addictive and dangerous.'
(
Oz
magazine, July 1972)

M and Ms
n pl British

tedious and/or unpleasant people. The disguised term of abuse (the letters stand for ‘
muppets
and morons') has been used in office slang and in call centres, etc. since 2003. M and Ms are chocolate-covered sweets.

Mandy
n British

an alternative for
Sharon

Did you see all the Mandies vamping around their handbags?

mangled
adj British, Irish

drunk

mangoes
n pl American

female breasts. One of many terms employing the metaphor of round fruit.

man in the boat
n See
little man/boy in the boat

mank
n, adj British

(something) unpleasant. In playground usage since 2000, the term is probably a shortening of the earlier adjective
manky
.

mank-up
n
,
adj British

someone or something considered dysfunctional, in disarray. Used by teenagers and young adults at Redbridge College, Essex, in 2010, the term was defined by one as ‘when a person drinks too much, and is always hangover sic and drunk'.

manky
adj British

grotty
, disgusting or distasteful. A 1960s vogue word, mainly in middle-class usage. The word had existed previously in working-class speech: it may be an invention influenced by ‘mangy', ‘cranky', ‘wonky', etc., or a corruption of the French
manqué
(lacking, failed). It is still used in northern England where its usual sense is naughty or spoilt.

manners
n pl Caribbean

situation, moral ambience. Usually heard in the phrase
under heavy manners
, meaning oppressed, behaving under the threat of discipline. The term was employed in the context of the Rastafarian and reggae subculture in the early 1970s and was briefly adopted by young whites, especially in the world of rock music.

mano-a-mano
adj
,
adv
,
n American
(engaged in) a physical confrontation or face-to-face encounter. The term, which refers literally to grappling or wrestling, is the Spanish for ‘hand to hand'.

He remembered his mano-a-mano with Palma.

manor
n British

one's own district or area of jurisdiction. A word used by both police and criminals since before World War II.

mans
n Caribbean

a group of men. The term has been adopted by some UK teenagers since 2000.

mansdem
n Caribbean

a group of close friends. The term has been adopted by some UK teenagers since 2000.

Compare
galdem

man up
vb British

a more recent and more respectable synonym for
butch up

‘Kwasi Kwarteng MP… telling the chancellor to “man up” and show he is serious about cutting the deficit? Or the former minister for women and equalities saying… “I think it's now time for Cameron to, you know, man up, step forward and actually say “yes, we are going to do it””?'
(
Guardian
, 5 March 2013)

man upstairs, the
n

a humorous euphemism for God

map of France/Ireland/America/etc.
n

a.
a stain on a sheet

b.
a patch of vomit

The use of the phrase map of Ireland to describe semen stains on bedsheets is said to originate among chambermaids, many of whom were themselves Irish.

mapping
n British

tracing the contours of a partner's body with the fingers. The term is usually heard among adolescents describing petting, and was included in
Just Seventeen
magazine's ‘lingo of lurve' in August 1996.

maps
n pl British

male breasts. The word, heard since 2000, was probably coined by analogy with
baps
.

maracas
n pl

a.
female breasts. A mainly American usage.

b.
the testicles. In British speech the (rare) term is reinforced by the rhyme with
knackers
.

maratata
n South African

a gun

marbles
n pl

1.
the testicles. A predictable drawing of a literal parallel (rather than, as some have claimed, an example of rhyming slang on ‘marble halls').
Pills
,
balls
,
stones
and
nuts
are similar metaphors.

2.
common sense, sanity, mental faculties. This use of the word was originally American, perhaps deriving from a folk tale.
See also
lose one's marbles

mardarse, mardie
n British

a ‘softie', a weak person. A schoolchildren's word heard from the 1930s onwards, particularly in the north of England. It is now rare, but not quite archaic, and comes from a dialect form of ‘marred' which has the specific sense of spoilt or sulky. Anthony Burgess mentions that the word was used of him by tormentors during his childhood. Mardie has also been heard in use as an adjective.

‘Go out with your Dad. Don't be such a bloody mardie.'
(Recorded, Leicester, 1990)

mare
n British

1.
a woman. A derogatory working-class usage on the lines of
cow
,
bitch
or
sow
. Mare usually has overtones of ‘nag' in both its senses and hence denotes a drab, wearisome woman. The word was given a wider currency by its use as a strong but acceptable term of abuse in TV comedies.

‘It was a mare of a game.'
(Comedian Bob Mills in ITV
Heroes and Villains
, 1994)

2.
See
have a mare

margar
¹
, maga
adj

skinny, slender. An item of Caribbean patois, also heard in the UK.

margar
²
n

a thin man or woman. A term from Caribbean speech, also heard in the UK since 2000, especially among younger speakers.

marinate
vb American

1.
to hang out

2.
to relax,
chill out

mark
n

a dupe or target chosen by a conman, pickpocket, etc. An old term, recorded as long ago as 1885 and still in use all over the English-speaking world

‘“She is drawn into an underworld of cons, scams, “marks” (suckers) and “tells” (their involuntary give-away gestures)”.'
(Review of David Mamet's US film,
House of Games
,
Independent
, 19 November 1987)

marking
n British

flirting. The term was in use among London university students in 2012.

mark someone's card
vb British

to tip someone off, give someone a warning. This phrase from the jargon of horse-racing has been adopted by London working-class speakers, in particular in police and underworld circles. The usual implication is a firm but gentle (or menacing) taking aside and ‘putting in the picture'.

You can leave it to me, I'll mark his card for him.

marmalize, marmelise
vb British

to destroy, utterly defeat. This invented word, suggesting, like
spifflicate
, some unspecified but comprehensive punishment, is probably a children's invention, perhaps based on marmalade. It has been used by adults for comic effect, particularly on radio and television (by Ken Dodd's ‘Diddymen' and the scriptwriters of
Coronation Street
among others).