 |
M
macca
adj.
Enormous, huge.
f.
massive, mega
cf.
mungous
UK (SE)
(the...) macho test
n.
A test of one's machismo conducted by rubbing at the forearm
with an eraser until the skin is rubbed raw. Called a "macho test" it was really more a test
of one's stupidity in grade school (where my classmates were conducting it). What basically
happened was one would take those basic pink school erasers, or the eraser from a pencil, and
rub the forearm vigorously until multiple layers of skin and forearm hair were removed, leaving
the area bald, shiny, and very very very raw. The fact that one could do this to themselves
and endure it was supposed to be a testament to their machismo.
circa.
1981-83
USA
macknah
n.
An expression of disinterest.
f.
imit. - noise made by the computer game
PACMAN when a ghost is devoured.
cf.
biggins
UK (SE)
mad
adj.
Word used to emphasise effect. Can be used as 'really'.
Used as "That test was MAD hard", i.e. 'Tht test was really hard"..
circa.
1990's
making out
n.
extended session of passionate kissing and petting
USA
maggot
adj.
A maggot is what SlipKnoT calls their hard core fans. For
example, "Maggots all around the nation impatiently waited for SlipKnoTs 'IOWA' to be
released.",
circa.
current
maggot (stiff.... )
n.
small penis.
cf.
Stiff Maggot (e.g. Darren R. at Greensward School,
who got a stiffy in the shower after rugby and started playing with it.)
magics, magic mushrooms
n.
Remarkably the little beaut's grow profusely every
September/October on the local school fields, golf courses etc. around Sandbach, Cheshire,
UK Shortly after growth, mushy eaters can be seen grazing (and gagging due to the musty
flavour). (ed: I know nothing of this - honest officer!)
UK (SE)
Magno-Knads
n.
One who has testicles of magic property or great strength.
Contributor says he has a pair of magno-knads but Im not bragging! (ed: don't call us - and
we'll not call you!)
circa.
2000
mallie
n.
homosexual. Used as term of abuse to describe somebody who
was gay (or appeared to be). Also used to describe the act of homosexual intercourse (ie.
"He mallied him!") f.
Allegedly, the word came into use following an incident
with a boy named "Malcolm" and another man, but has since found to be untrue. However, the
word remained in use at the contributors school in Durham for many years after the supposed
event.
UK (NE)
maim ball
n.
(1) A game by which an old tennis ball is kicked at a wall (in a
manner similar to squash) while other players stand immediately in front of the wall and move to
avoid being hit at close range. (2) An alternate is an equally dangerous *teacher supervised* game
(similar to British Bulldogs) whereby the class has to run up and down one side of the gym while
the P.E. teacher lauches (which some force) a handsized soccer ball at the kids. The winner is
the last one to be hit. Strangely, this was considered an end of term treat., The game starts
with all players taking turns to kick the ball at the wall - the ball cannot be stopped and must
be kicked from where it ends up. If a player misses the wall he goes "on the wall". Play continues
as before but player on the wall can attempt to prevent a kicked ball hitting the wall. This is easy
if the ball is struck from afar but risky if attempted at close range. The winner is the last
kicker.
cf.
British Bulldog
UK
Major
adj.
Used in similar fashion to "brilliant" or "cool". Often used alone,
or to describe something or as a substitute for the word "really". Currently used by girls aged
about 16 in a comprehensive school in Essex,
UK
Mall
v.
Crying
circa.
current
Mallet
n.
A person discovered by his peers, in changing rooms and
similar, to be without pubic hair. Used as "He's a mallet!!", or "You're a mallet!",
c.f.
ham
UK
malco
adj.
Having a lack of coordination. An abbrev. of mal-coordinated.
Handy for shouting at goalkeepers who have two left hands and all thumbs!
circa.
1990's
man boobs
adj.
describe a boys undefined, or flabby pectorals. Always
reminds me of the Jerry Seinfeld episode Where Kramer and George's father try to develop
the 'Bro' or 'Mansierre'.
circa.
1990's
Man-Hunt
n.
A variation on Hide-and-seek where the person has to be
physically caught. A variation can be for one person to hide who than has to be caught by a
team of people (whoever else was playing). No distance boundaries were applied - although
a time limit was often necessary.
circa.
1985 - 98
UK (NW)
Manimal
n.
Taken from the early 80's TV show of the same name, about a private detective
who could change into various animals at will (accompanied with an extreme close up of a pulsating hand),
this game involved clenching a fist and then wiggling the knuckles and tendons whilst going "I'm
Manimal!"
circa.
1983 - 84
UK (S)
manky
adj.
Describes somthing revolting or gross. From the French
'manque'.
circa.
1950's+
manners
n.
'Manners' was a term used to point out that another kid was
inferior to you, in the way they dressed, at sports, physically, or just in general. If you
were 'under manners' this could also mean that you were in trouble, or being watched by a
teacher in class, so had to be quiet. Obviously, it was used to tease and show that you
could still continue to behave badly, whilst they were - indeed - 'under manners', I heard
this all through secondary school. Incidentally, my school - Quintin Kynaston - was the
school that Graham McPherson, 'Suggs' from Madness went to, and wrote the song
'Baggy Trousers' about! (ed: another bit of history recorded for posterity!)
circa.
1880 - 84
Man-of-Atlantis
n.
Useless swimming stroke based on Patrick Duffy in the
television series.
Map-o'-Tassie
n.
Womens pubic hair. Due to a strange quirk of fate, Tasmania looks
exactly the same shape as the area of a womans untrimmed pubic hair. Rather suitable really -
bearing in mind the state government refuses to legalise homosexuality!!
Aus.
maremare
n.
Corruption of Nightmare. Said to someone that is not doing
something correctly or is having bad luck. i.e. "you are having a mare mate".
UK (SE)
marbles
n.
A game in many varieties but normally involving the striking of one spherical
glass object with another. There are two main versions. In the first the object is to knock the opponenents
marbles out of a ring drawn on the ground (or in the dust) of size determined by custom and practice in a
particular area. The object of the second is to hit the opponents marble three times in succession (or
cumulatively - depending on the area). In the first variation, the marbles knocked out of the circle belong
to the one whose marble did the knocking. In the second variety the marbles used in the game belong to the
first person to strike the others marble three times. The game became world famous after Lord and
Lady Docker gave it social cache during the 1950's. Individual marbles have been given a number of names
depending on their type and quality: e.g these from New Zealand and the UK
Catseye, n. The most common form of glass marble in our games. Clear glass, sometimes tinted, with a
cat's eye shaped swirl in the centre.
Giant, n. Oversize marble. Glass versions highly prized, the bigger the better. Plastic versions also
appeared occasionally, up to 4cm diameter(!) (which in hindsight looked suspiciously ike the ball from
a roll-on deodorant bottle). Prized by some (and would probably not have been at the time if we had known
where they were from).
Steely, n. Marble sized steel ball bearing (when) used for playing marbles. Highly prized.
Spider. n. Similar to a cat's eye, but with a multistranded tenticular insert.
Bulgarian. n. corrupted form of ball-bearing Ball bearings were highly desirable for use as marbles because
of their weight and increased surface friction.
Using a ball bearing meant your "strike" was harder - which increased your chances of striking the other
marbles out of the circle, whilst itself remaining inside the circle. Knocking a marble out of the circle,
whilst you were remained inside, usually meant you got another turn. This continued until either all marbles
were knocked out of the circle, or you failed, with one strike, to knock a marble out of the circle,
In that case, your marble became one of those available for others to "win" by knocking out of the
circle.
This from "Joe Murray" in aus.tv:
the marbles games I played (1964-68ish, Glasgow) we called 'Bools' or 'Stanks' ; Bools was an open
game , one against one, first to hit the others Bool won, Stanks was a complicated game using the
manhole covers on the small drains around the schoolyard in which you had to get your marbles into
a certain pattern on the holes that were in the drain covers. A standard marble was a 'bool' a large
one was a 'taw' (worth about three to four bools) and the steelmaking works in Glasgow meant there
were lots of 'steelies', ball bearings that increased in worth according to their size.
This from "vanessa" in aus.tv:
I can't believe how dopey we were in primary to actually believe that ball bearings (steelies) were
marbles!! What a rip-off. I probably lost lots of nice marbles playing for ball bearings! I liked
crystals myself - especially the large ones. Cats eyes were not highly valued; unless they were big
ones. What is it about drains and marbles also? Our game was played along the length of the drain
and it served as an excellent catchment for the marbles that others used to try to win the marble
you had put up.
(ed: I think I need a section that specialises only in marbles! We *are* considering a seperate "games"
section but as yet haven't got round to it.)
Case in point being the following sent in by Mike Winship. It really had to included verbatim!
"On the playground were marked a tennis court and a football pitch. Where the posts for the tennis
net would be were holes and the overlapping markings created a rectangular area around it, with the
hole being in the centre. Players would take turns to roll their marble towards the hole. Whoever
got theirs in first would then immediately be given a chance to roll their opponent's marble. This
would then alternate with the winner being whoever got the remaining marble in the hole.
There were various ridiculous rules and strategies that could be employed (like 'cagies', which
allowed the non-rolling played to defend the hole with their hand) but ensuring you shouted 'nothing
in the book except lines' before a match would put a stop to that ('Lines' meant that if a marble
left the designated playing area it would be placed at the point where it left for the next turn, a
bit like a football throw-in)
All marbles had values and if you were to play against a better marble, you would have to beat the
owner the corresponding amount of times in successive matches.
Here is the marble heirachy:
The sizes ranged: Liggy, normal, Penka, Queeny, Kingy. Therefore to win a standard Penka with , say,
a Cat's Eye you'd have to play 'Twosie-Onesies' and beat them twice. It got more complicated if it
was a Penka Oily Vs a Queeny Steely, or whatever.
I was the undefeated champion for a while with a Kingy Piratey I won against the odds, until Karl
Birchill beat me by cheating and swiftly pocketing the marble. I soon retired.
Also, this was a seasonal game, as the tennis posts would appear in the summer. And people rarely
played when it rained and dark matter filled the hole.
Marble Arch (The.... )
n.
At Hitherfield (our primary school) There were some
enterprising lads who would create 'The Marble Arch' and tout their business at breaktimes in
the playground. The Marble Arch was a cardboard shoebox which would have small holes cut
into it just slightly bigger than a marble. The owner of the arch would offer up the deal
that if you could,from a measured pre-set distance, roll your marble through one of the
holes in the arch, you won either one, two or more marbles (usually dependant on the size
of the hole).
Generally, the proprieter came off the better out of the deal, as he kept your marble if
you failed. However there was always one spong who would make it too easy by making the
holes too big and he would then come unstuck. Every boy in the school would be queing
up to play his alley and of course he would eventually run out of marbles to give
as prizes. At this point he would be given a hiding by the unlucky would-be contestants.
Contributor said he ran a Marble Arch and did OK, but got out while the going was good and
never got too greedy - some others weren't so lucky and lived to regret it! (ed: magic story -
thanks!)
Mard, Mardy
n.
circa.
current
mard, mardy
n., adj.
Moody, sulky, stroppy or in a tantrum. Used as in "Having a
mard", "He's mardy", "He's a mard", "Mardy bastard.". (Mardy is mostly interchangeable
with mard).
If you piss someone off and they are upset you say "Mmm.... mmmmm... mmmmmm.....
MMMMaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrdddd" in a high pitch voice causing them to go red in the face and boil
with rage hence they are Mardy.
Another contribution described it as follows: "Mostly by my cousin & her extended family
around Coventry. Means moody, miserable, particularly when tired, and almost exclusively
to describe females. eg "Ooooh, you're a bit mardy today" or when adults "Mardy Bitch"
to describe miserable females in nightclubs.".
marely
n.
Apparantly a person from Somalia.
circa.
currrent
Marmite Driller, .... Miner
n.
Offensive term for homosexual male.
f.
Marmite being the thick brown yeast extract spread on toast and
the like in the UK. Knowing this, the meaning of the term kind of speaks for itself. (similar to
the unspeakable Vegemite of Australia).
UK (Mid)
marrer
n.
Friend. A term of endearment in the Lancashire town of
Wigan. On meeting a friend a Wigan man would very often greet him with "Alreet marrer",
meaning "how are you friend"
circa.
1960's
Mary had a little lamb
poem.
More little rhymes based on word play. As usual, the
last word of one line stretches on to become first word of the next:
Mary had a little lamb, she also had a duck,
And now 'Just some lines fae the ditty......as they say in Scotland where this extra set of
lines came from: ......!!
Mary had a little Lamb, she called it little Tilly
She threw it by the left leg, and caught it by the....
Willy was a bulldog sitting in the grass,
Along came a Bumblebee, and stung him on the
Ask no questions, tell no lies,
Have you ever seen a Policeman pulling up his
Flies are a nuisance wasps are worse,
This is the end of my wonderful verse.
mash
n.
to brew tea.
f.
brewing where the barley is left in hot water to "mash"
UK (NE)
mash up
n.
Drunk as a skunk. Smashed out of the head. Pissed.
circa.
1990's
maw (yer... )
n.
pronounced, 'yer-maw' as in 'claw', this is a classic riposte when
one's string of stand-by retorts has been exhausted. The always effective 'thing to say when there
is nothing else to say' and in that way it is very much the supercalifragilisticexpealidocious of
the scruffy playground. When stuck for a witty rejoinder merely resort to "Oh aye...yer maw" Eternal
argument winner. Is often countered with subsequent elaborations "Aye...you're maw";"Yer fuckin'
maw";and the endlessly creative and enigmatic "Aye...yer maw's baws!" (ed: for the unenlightened,
maw = mother, baw = balls)
c.f.
baw heid
UK
maxi-gimp
adj.
an extreme version of a gimp
c.f.
gimp
USA
Matress Man
n.
Term denoting a particularly egregious form of wanker, At school
during the summer they would leave the fire exit door at the end of the dining hall open for ventilation.
Through it you could see the fire escape for one of the boarding houses. This house (North 'A') was
traditionally known for its sexual deviancy (eg amongst its members it was prized to be invited to join
the Ginger Pubes Club). One summer evening during the second sitting of dinner a commotion was caused
as large numbers of diners were congregating by the door in awful fascination at the sight on the
North 'A' fire escape. Paul Dunbar (or Pauly D- also used interchangeably with the more generic
"Mattress Man"), having eaten in the first sitting had retired to the fire escape for a quick one off
the wrist. In the throes of passion he chanced upon a discarded mattress leaning against the wall in
the fire escape and vented his passions upon it fairly vigorously. Apart from half the school
witnessing this so did most of the teachers who had to come over to see what was causing the commotion in
the dining hall. Subsequently even they called him Mattress Man. Needless to say he left the school soon
after. This was at The Leys in Cambridge.
circa
1988
UK (SE)
meat and two veg.
n.
male genitalia
c.f.
wedding tackle, family jewels,
UK
meaty
n.
Material ejected from the mouth consisting of a mixture of saliva
and mucus, that contains a high proportion of mucus. In other words, Spit with a fair amount of
snot in it. e.g. "I did a meaty on that prefect".
c.f.
meaty, semi-phlegmy, gob, snot
circa.
1970's - 80's
UK
meesh
n.
A 'standing on street corners drinking cider' type of person
who goes looking for a fight every 2 minutes as he thinks he's well hard, where as in fact,
he's a skinny, scummy little runt. All Meeshes should really be shot or drowned at birth.
A Meesh will usually be found in South Wales.
c.f.
scally
circa.
1990's
meff
n.
1) dirty, smelly individual. 2) A vagrant. 3) person with
disgusting habits
f.
possible derivative of methylated
circa.
1980's
UK (NW)
meffer
n.
A drunken tramp (Not just any old drunkard). There was
Kindler, but he wasn't really a meffer, just a pervy old alcoholic who would wave his impressively
large member at the kids who taunted him. He owned a house and wore a suit-which he would
regularly piss down, and this raised him one level above mefferdom. The name very much
derives from and a contraction of, their favoured tipple of Methylated Spirit.
circa.
1960 - 70's
meg
n.
Alternative name for UK 'pence'. For example, saying it
cost 50 meg meant it cost 50p
circa.
1980's - 90's
Mega
n
Overused word that meant almost anything 'good' or 'great'.
Can be used alone or with other words.
circa.
1980's
UK
meh
ex.
General exclamation. Tone of voice denotes meaning. Can be
angry, overjoyed, confused, etc.Pronouniation as 'H' is highly aspirated, and the 'e'
is pronounced like the 'e' is "head".,
circa.
1990's
Mekon
adj. derog.
person with remarkably high forhead, bald person
f.
character in Dan Dare cartoon series, Eagle Comic
circa 1950's+
cf.
Teflon, Slap Head, Spam Head
mello
v.
Is where you push so hard to fart that you shit your pants.
circa.
current
melons, jugs, knobs, honkers
n.
Female breasts. From an American perspective, these are all
slang words used in describing women's breasts. "Honkers" is not as common, but is used to
describe breasts by the way they might be handled by a person...to be "honked" like a circus
clown's horn.
circa.
1950's+
melvin
n
cf.
Wedgie
Another contributor objects to the 'wedgie' definition and sent in the following:
In my school described the action of grabbing someone's testicles and twisting (especially
when performed by a girl to get revenge over some form of sexual harrasment). One girl,
Kim, a couple of years above the contributor, was notorious for giving them, although he
personally found her to be a very nice person. Used as "Watch out fer that Kim, she'll
melvin yer!!"
melvin
n. v.
A reverse wedgie. Pulling the frontside of someones underwear as
high as possible, or until he screams and cries in pain. Usually given to wiseass kids who
taunt older classmates. Can be especially painful if the person getting the melvin is wearing
boxer shorts.
cf.
Wedgie
circa.
mid 1990's
USA
menage de trois
id.
Term 'borrowed' from the original French now used to describe
a situation in which three people are intimately involved. In use it usually refers to a
situation where one woman shares herself between two men.
This of course leads us naturally to Woddy Allens comment on being asked his opinion on sex
between a man and a woman, that it was a wonderful thing, provided you get between the right
man and the right woman!
menner
n.
Someone who is mentally or physically deficient. Notes the
fact that the local mental hospital (Silveroyds) was situated in the Leeds suburb of
Menston, hence 'Menner', someone who came from Menston.
c.f.
joey, mong, spac, loonie
circa.
1960's - 70's
ment
n.
Abbreviated from 'Mental'. Used to describe someone who seems
uncordinated or performs an uncordinated act. For example, "He missed the ball, the fat ment!"
circa.
1990's
mental
adj.
1) mad, insane. 2) stupid. 3) brilliant, marvellous. 4) bizarre,
strange. 5) (of BMX accidents) extremely painful.) 6) loud, violent 7) mentalist, a mentler.
cf.
mentler
mentalist
n.
someone considered to be a bit lacking in the brain department:
i.e. "the lights are on but no-one's home.". Always more effective when used as part of the
phrase, "You big spastic, you're a mentalist."
cf.
mental, mentler, bong, dimmock, spack, nutjob, joey, flid, mong,
eppy, crip, div, bell-end
UK (SWa)
mentler
n.
A mental person.
cf.
mental, bong, dimmock, spack, nutjob, joey, flid, mong, eppy, crip,
div, bell-end
mental mick
n.
Mental Mick was a strapping 16 year old when we were 10 -11
(ish). He didn't have a Mum and lived with his Dad. He was an arrant bully and was always
going to "get" someone. If you were the person that Mental Mick had singled out for this
treatment, you lived in fear, because he would suddenly appear in the middle of a game of
football or 'run-outs' and administer a severe whacking.
Mental Mick was once after me. I was petrified for at least two weeks. One afternoon,
outside my house, Mental Mick "got" me. Just as my Mother, a short and round woman of whom
you would never suspect a violent streak, had come to call me in for tea. She gave him the
hiding of his life. He never lived it down , and I got away with it as I hadn't gone crying
to her, she had simply chanced upon the encounter. (ed: I could have done with a mum like
that)
mercy
n.
A game similar to arm wrestling but carried out (usu.)
standing with both hands linked until one party contorts the other into giving a pathetic scream
for mercy
Also defined as "Two players grasping each others hands and digging their nails into the others
hand and twisting their arms into positions to get the other person to cry "mercy!", thus
ending the game,
merf
n.
Cowshit - literally.
circa.
2000
merkin
n.
(1) a wig for the pubic region (2) America - from the
strange clipped pronunciation some American citizens have for name of their country. By
association, Merka is the country itself. The current nominal leader of Merka is known
worldwide as Dubya - a.k.a. George W. Bush
circa.
2000+
metal mouth!
n.
unkind name for someone wearing braces on their teeth
cf.
tin-grin, brace-face
US
metgod
n.
(pron. met-hod): a phrase used in celebration of a goal
in a footy game in the schoolyard. Named after the Dutch striker from the world cup team from
(pos.) the Mexico world cup.
An update on this definition has been provided which sheds extra light on this term. Also
there is now a separate entry for 'Johnny Metgod': He was a defender, rather than a striker,
and although a Dutch international, Holland did not qualify for the 1986 tournament in
Mexico, losing a qualification play-off in 1985 with close rivals Belgium (who eventually
finsihed fourth, fact fans).
Johnny played for a long period during the 1980s for Nottingham Forest, hence shouting
'metgod' is a clearer indication that this saying originating someone in that area.
Another possibility is that most kickabouts, featuring commentary by the person on the ball
at anyone time, invariably involve a cry when the ball goes in of the name of a player
who has either been definitively accepted into the pantheon of greats (Pele, Maradona, Ralph
Milne etc) or has recently scored a really good goal that was on Football Focus or the
Saint and Greavsie. For example, Marco Van Basten featured a lot after his stunner in the
final of the 1988 European Championships. Johnny Metgod had a good line in piledriving shots
from about 30 yards, and it became both speciality and something he became known for at the
time, so any goal scored from distance would be followed by the scorer saying 'Metgod' in a
pre-pubescent Motson-like-high-pitched-excited-voice, thus cracking windows nearby.
mexican handball
game.
Very similar to A-frame, but played against a flat wall
instead of a corner. You throw the ball, someone tries to catch it. If they miss they
must run as fast as they can and touch the wall. If someone pelts them with the ball
before they get to the wall, the person has to stand (without flinching) as all the other
players take a pot-shot at them. If you flinch, everyone gets another shot.
c.f.
A-frame
circa.
1980's
mexicoon
adj.
A person of mixed ethnicity. Half African-American and half
Mexican. Whilst 'coon' is a derogotory term used to describe African Americans. However; the
term mexicoon is not meant to be derogatory. (ed: in Australia there is a brand of cheese
called 'Coon'. It is now made by Kraft but originated with a certain Dr. Coon who made it
first).
circa.
1990's
MGB's
n.
alternative name for "Jesus Boots" MGB = Moses Getaway Boots
cf.
Jesus Boots
US
mickey
n.
375 ml. (13 oz.) bottle of liquor
CAN
miff
n.
female genitalia or pubic hair. used as "D'yer gerrany miff in
that film?", or "Ey, I can see 'er miff!" etc.
circa.
1970-80's
UK (NW)
miffed
adj.
to be (justifiably) annoyed
UK (Wa)
milf
adj.
Acronym which stands for "Mother I'd Love to Fuck". It is
an adjective used by males, describing a mother of a friend that is hot, and you wouldn't
mind fucking her. Can also be interchanged with dilf and gilf. daddies and grannies. MILF
was used in the movie "American Pie" which is where the word has spread from.
circa.
1999
Millenium Domes
n.
Breasts. Contents of a Wonderbra. The contents of a
Wonderbra, i.e. extremely impressive when viewed from the outside, but there's actually fuck-
all in there worth seeing.
milk, milk...
poem.
Relates to an anatomical description of the female form:
Milk, Milk,
milk it
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