Dictionary of Contemporary Slang (104 page)

The rhyming slang uses the name of the British TV arts programme presenter and novelist.

memsahib
n British

a.
one's wife

b.
a dignified, domineering or redoubtable woman

The word, now usually employed facetiously, is a form of madame-sahib (
sahib
is Hindi for master or lord), a form of address used by Indian servants in the colonial era. (The usual pronunciation is ‘memsaab'.)

meneer
n South African

a teacher. The term is Afrikaans for ‘sir'. Recorded as an item of Sowetan slang in the
Cape Sunday Times
, 29 January 1995.

mensch, mensh
n

a.
a reputable, admirable or dependable person (usually, but not invariably, a male). An approving term from Yiddish and German in which its literal meaning is man, woman, person or humankind.

b.
an exclamation of surprise or alarm from Yiddish or German

mental
¹
n See
throw a mental

mental
²
adj

1.
British
mentally ill, subnormal or deranged, crazy. A widespread colloquialism which showed signs of losing popularity in the 1970s, perhaps due to increased sensitivity; this tendency was reversed by
punks
, fans of heavy metal and others who enthusiastically adopted the term to refer to their characteristic frenzies,
headbanging
, etc. In these circles the word may be used to express admiration.

See also
radio rentals

2a.
exciting, dynamic

2b.
excellent, good

mentalist
n British

a crazy, eccentric or obsessive person. A common pejorative term among younger speakers since the late 1990s. In standard English the word denotes a mind-reader.

merchant banker
n British

a contemptible person, a
wanker
. This rhyming slang, coined in the late 1980s like its synonym ‘Kuwaiti tanker', highlights a contemporary concern (in this case the spectacular mid-1980s developments in the financial centres of the City of London) to revitalise a familiar epithet.

mereng
n South African

money

merk
vb

an alternative spelling of
murk

merkin
n

a.
the female pubic area or female sex organs

b.
an artificial vagina, used as a sex aid Merkin is a late medieval word for a wig designed to be worn on the female pubis, usually in order to disguise the effects of syphilis. It probably originates as an affectionate diminutive form of Mary. From the 1960s the word was better known in the USA than Britain.

mersh
adj

commercial. A word used in the 1980s in fashionable youth circles and rock journalism, usually at least slightly pejoratively.

mersh tendencies.

Meryl (Streep)
adj British

cheap
. The rhyming-slang term, in use since around 2000, uses the name of the Hollywood actress.

messed up
adj

intoxicated by or suffering the aftereffects of alcohol or drugs

messy
adj

excellent. A term from the lexicon of dance music and
hip hop
.

mestern
n South African

fashionable clothing. Recorded as an item of Sowetan slang in the
Cape Sunday Times
, 29 January 1995.

Met, the
n British

the London Metropolitan Police force. The abbreviation by which they refer both to themselves and their district or area of jurisdiction (which covers most of central and suburban London but excludes the City).

meth
n

Methedrine (the trademark name for methamphetamine). A drug user's abbreviation for the powerful amphetamine-based stimulant (
speed
) which has been widely abused, particularly in the mid- and late 1960s.

meths
n British

methylated spirits, as drunk for its intoxicating effects by alcoholics, vagrants, etc.

metrosexual
n

a stylish, narcissistic male. The term combines metropolitan and heterosexual and denotes a
straight
man with
gay
tastes or attitudes. It was coined in the USA in 2002 and became a vogue term in most English-speaking areas in 2003.

Compare
stray
;
stromo

Mexican breakfast
n

a cigarette and a glass of water. A witticism originating in the USA, where the Mexican reference is supposed to evoke poverty and lack of sophistication or competence. There have been other, probably later, variations on this pattern, among which are
dingo's breakfast
and ‘pelican's breakfast' (a glass of water).

mezoomas
n pl

female breasts. One of many similar invented terms probably based on the archaic
bazumas
, a corruption of bosom.

micey
adj British

1.
stingy, miserly

2.
shifty, dishonest, disreputable

3.
uncertain, suspicious, threatening

4.
unfortunate, weak, unassertive

The differing senses of the term are probably related, originating in the idea of a mouse nibbling at or secreting a tiny amount.

Michael Jackson
n British

an amount or quantity under ten. The term was used by City of London financial traders in the 1990s and the reference was to the celebrity singer's supposed attachments to young children.

mick
n

1a.
an Irish person. This shortening of one of the most common Irish Christian names (along with Patrick or
Paddy
) was first used in the USA and Australia to personify the Irishman or a person of Irish descent. The usage had spread to Britain by the early years of the 20th century.

1b.
a Roman Catholic, by extension from the first sense

In both senses, the word is usually used unaffectionately or pejoratively.

2.
See
take the mick/mickey/michael mickey (finn)
n

a soporific or stupefying drug administered to a person without their knowledge. The word was first recorded in the USA in the early 20th century. It may derive from the name of a real individual or from a generic (probably seafarers') term for a cudgel or thug.

Mickey (Bliss)
See
take the mick/mickey/michael

Mickey Mouse
adj

amateurish, unworthy of consideration or respect. A contemptuous description beloved of the business world in the 1970s and 1980s, Mickey Mouse has in fact been used in this way since before World War II when the phrase was applied for instance to childish or simplistic music or the bands which played it. It subsequently denoted any institution or venture which did not deserve to be taken seriously.

It's strictly a Mickey Mouse operation they're running there.

middle leg
n

the penis.
Third leg
is an alternative form of the euphemism.

midnight
n British

marihuana. An item of rhyming slang used by prisoners and others: the rhyme is midnight mass,
grass
.

milf, MILF
n American

a desirable older female. The designation, typically used by young males in conversation or internet chats, derives from the phrase ‘(A) Mom I'd like to fuck'.

militant
adj

1.
an allpurpose term of approval. A usage originating in Jamaican
yardie

speech, which has now been taken up by adolescents in the US and Britain.

2.
violent or ‘known as being hard'

3.
angry

A term used by young street-gang members in London since around 2000.

milkshake
n American

female allure, sexiness. The quality, referred to in a song by Kelis, is the feminine counterpart of
pimp-juice
.

She got milkshake.

milly
n British

a.
a disreputable young female

b.
a
chav
of either gender

The term, of uncertain origin, was recorded in 2005.

milned-up
adj British

incarcerated. The term, from the jargon of prisoners, now often refers to temporary imprisonment in, e.g., an observation cell. In the form ‘milned-in' the phrase dates back at least to the 1940s: Milne were the makers of door-locks used in prisons.

milquetoast, milktoast
n American

an un-macho, meek man; a
wimp
. Reminiscent of the food given to invalids, milquetoast derives from the name of the fictional character Caspar Milquetoast, created by the American cartoonist H. T. Webster. Zsa Zsa Gabor used the term, to the puzzlement of many British viewers, when interviewed during her trial for assault in California in 1989.

‘Asked why she resisted, she said: “I'm a Hungarian woman… not a milquetoast”.'
(Agency report on Zsa Zsa Gabor during trial)

mimsy
n British

vagina, female pubic hair

‘Agyness Deyn dyes her mimsy the same shade of platinum as her hair'
(Popbitch online gossip website, May 2008)

mincer
n British

a male homosexual, effeminate or effete male. In armed-forces' usage, from the notion of a ‘mincing gait'.

minces
n pl British

the eyes. From the cockney rhyming-slang phrase, ‘mince pies'. The expression is still used today by working-class Londoners; it is now invariably heard in the shortened, one-word form.

OK then, feast your minces on this!

minder
n

a bodyguard. A word which emerged from the obscurity of working-class and criminal
slang into general usage in the early 1970s, mainly due to the fashion for quasirealist crime drama on British television. This trend culminated in the later, gentler television series of the same name, starring Dennis Waterman and George Cole.

mindfuck
n

a disorienting experience, a manipulation of or interference with one's mind, a staggering idea or event. A
hippy
expression which has lingered on into post-hippy usage. It has been used approvingly to describe a particularly strong drug.

mine
n

my home

OK, everyone back to mine to continue the party!

mines

the term is defined on the Urban Dictionary website as ‘a word that dumbasses use to mean possession'

Those books are mines.
That's mines.
You got mines?

ming
adj British

unpleasant, repellent, inferior. The derivation from
minging
is used by teenagers and some older speakers.
Mank
was reported as a contemporary synonym.

minge
n British

the female pudenda. A taboo word which was particularly prevalent in working-class speech of the 1950s. It originated in late 19th-century country dialect and may be from Romany.

‘Minge is one of the assortment of words for the sexual bits that people think should keep him [Chubby Brown] off television because some viewers would not understand him anyway.'
(
Independent
, 31 July 1989)

minger
n British

an unattractive person, particularly a promiscuous woman. A vogue term among adolescents since the later 1990s. The term comes from the verb ‘to ming', originally a Scottish dialect synonym for stink.

minghawk
n Scottish
a foolish and/or annoying person. The term has been adopted in other parts of Britain since around 2000.

minging
adj

a.
Scottish
stinking

b.
British
unpleasant, unattractive. A vogue term in adolescent speech since around 2000.

mingy
adj British

a term of childish criticism or abuse which is a blend of ‘mean' and ‘stingy' with which it rhymes, rather than an adaptation of the taboo word
minge

mini-me
n