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单词 mess
释义

messn.1

Brit. /mɛs/, U.S. /mɛs/
Forms: Middle English mece, Middle English meiis, Middle English meisse, Middle English myse, Middle English–1500s mease, Middle English–1500s mees, Middle English–1500s meesse, Middle English–1500s mes, Middle English–1500s mese, Middle English–1600s measse, Middle English–1600s messe, Middle English– mess, 1500s meace, 1500s meas, 1500s meece; English regional (chiefly northern) 1800s– mais, 1800s– mase, 1800s– mease, 1800s– meeas, 1800s– meos, 1800s– mes; Scottish pre-1700 mace, pre-1700 maice, pre-1700 mais, pre-1700 maise, pre-1700 maiss, pre-1700 mase, pre-1700 masse, pre-1700 meas, pre-1700 mease, pre-1700 meass, pre-1700 meis, pre-1700 meise, pre-1700 meiss, pre-1700 meisse, pre-1700 mense (transmission error), pre-1700 mes, pre-1700 mese, pre-1700 messe, pre-1700 meys, pre-1700 1700s– mess, pre-1700 1800s meace.
Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French mes.
Etymology: < Anglo-Norman mes, mees, messe, Old French mes portion of food (mid 12th cent.; Middle French, French mets dish, food) < post-classical Latin missus portion of food, course of a meal (4th cent.), spec. use of classical Latin missus , lit. ‘sending’ < the Indo-European base of mittere to send (see mission n.) + the Indo-European base of -tus, suffix forming verbal nouns. Compare Italian (archaic) messo course of a meal (14th cent.).All senses other than the primary sense ‘portion of food’ appear to be English developments. French mess military refectory (1831; compare sense 5b) is a borrowing < English. Late Middle English variation in the quantity of the stem vowel between short ĕ and long open ē (as well as subsequent raising of the latter) is shown by such Middle English and later forms as mease , meisse , meesse , mase . This variation is common in borrowings < French, especially before sibilants (see discussion s.v. press v.1, and see further E. J. Dobson Eng. Pronunc. 1500–1700 (ed. 2, 1968) II. §8).
I. A portion of food, and related senses.
1.
a. A serving of food; a course; a meal; a prepared dish of a specified kind of food. Also figurative. Now historical and English regional (except as merging into sense 2a).Figurative uses of this sense (for example, quots. 1570, a1764) are often indistinguishable from the more pejorative senses 2c and 3a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > [noun] > dish
meateOE
messc1300
servicec1450
dish1526
plate1577
plat1766
meat and potatoes1846
M & V1925
meat and two veg1960
the world > food and drink > food > meal > course > [noun]
sanda700
messc1300
coursec1325
servicec1450
the world > food and drink > food > amounts of food > [noun] > portion of food > portion served
sanda700
messc1300
servicec1330
help1809
round1839
serving1864
serve1868
helping1883
c1300 St. Cuthbert (Laud) 68 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 361 (MED) Gistes wel gladliche þene mete he ȝaf..him-seolf he wolde..serui heom of alle þe mes.
c1330 King of Tars (Auch.) 86 in Englische Studien (1889) 11 35 (MED) Þe soudan sat at his des, Yserued of þe first mes.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 12559 Noþer durst þai..brek þair brede, ne tast þair mes.
a1425 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 658/8 Hoc frustrum, mese, gobyt.
?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 154 Þai bring before him aþer fyfe meessez.
1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) II. 2016/2 What an euill messe of handling this Whittell had, & how he was..all to beaten..manifestly may appeare.
1587 A. Fleming et al. Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) III. 920/1 The which [sc. servants] togither kept also a continuall messe in the hall.
1603 T. Dekker 1603: Wonderfull Yeare sig. C1v Most blisfull Monarch..Seru'd with a messe of kingdomes.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) iv. i. 195 I will chop her into messes—cuckold me! View more context for this quotation
1631 T. Heywood England's Elizabeth (1641) 175 Before the second messe came in, he fell sick at the table.
1708 C. Cibber Lady's Last Stake i. i. 4 What a Mess of Impertinence have I had this Morning.
1751 D. Hume Enq. Princ. Morals 228 My friend Alcheic form'd once a Party for my Entertainment,..and each of us brought his Mess along with him.
a1764 R. Lloyd Poet in Poet. Wks. (1774) II. 17 As colleges, who duly bring Their mess of verse to every king.
1766 J. Bartram Diary 23 Jan. in Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc. (1942) 33 44/2 We cooked a fine mess of palm-cabbage.
1770 N. Nicholls Let. 28 Nov. in T. Gray Corr. (1971) III. 1152 In hopes of learning a little profane history to mix with my divine, which is really a bad mess by itself.
1819 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto II xli. 139 For want of water, and their solid mess Was scant enough.
1841 G. P. R. James Corse de Leon II. iv. 89 Here comes the old woman with my mess of food.
1888 R. L. Stevenson Black Arrow iii. i. 144 Three or four men sat drinking ale and eating a hasty mess of eggs.
1962 G. E. Evans Ask Fellows who cut Hay (ed. 2) xxv. 234 It is possible..to point to words still heard in the Norfolk and Suffolk as well as the Essex dialect:..‘skeer’ for scare; ‘mess’ a meal of food.
1993 B. Harvey Living & Dying in Eng. (1995) ii. 44 Food was brought to the table in portions called messes. A large mess contained food for four monks.
b. The quantity of milk given by a cow at one milking. Now U.S. regional (chiefly New England).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > dairy farming > [noun] > milking > yielding of milk
messa1533
milch1603
letdown1960
a1533 J. Frith Against Rastel (?1535–6) sig. Dii A shrowd cowe whiche whan she hath geven a large messe of milke torneth it don with her hele.
1594 J. Ogle Lament. Troy sig. g4 I may saie of thee now, As the good-wife wont saie of hir cow That gaue a messe of milke new and soot.
1803 F. Sayers Nugæ Poeticæ 16 They drink a mess of milk drawn from the cows Which ever-chewing range the fruitful meads.
1842 Knickerbocker 19 557 Sally couldn't hardly bring in the pail, she gave such a mess.
1872 1st Rep. Vermont State Board Agric. 1871–2 197 I tested their milk by weighing every mess for a month.
1929 Amer. Speech 5 118 A good hearted person with a high temper..[is] ‘like a cow that gives a good mess of milk, then kicks the pail over’.
1967 in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (1996) III. 575/1 She gives a good mess of milk.
c. A quantity (of meat, fruit, etc.) sufficient to make a dish. Now U.S. regional.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > dish of many ingredients > [noun] > quantity of ingredients for
messa1535
a1535 T. More Hist. Richard III in Wks. (1557) 53/2 You haue very good strawberies at your gardayne in Holberne, I require you let vs haue a messe of them.
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 ii. i. 97 Goodwife Keech..comming in to borow a messe of vinegar. View more context for this quotation
1621 in C. Innes Black Bk. Taymouth (1855) 313 Off new salt beiff i quarter iiii meiss.
1697 S. Sewall Diary (1878) I. 455 Betty gets her Mother a Mess of English Beans.
1775 B. Romans Conc. Nat. Hist. E. & W. Florida 12 He told me; that his mother had an inclination to eat fish, and he was to come to get her a mess.
1792 G. White Jrnl. 1 May (1970) xxv. 402 Cut a good mess of aspargus.
1838 T. Shone Jrnl. 20 Oct. (1992) 69 We gather'd a mess of new potatoes for dinner.
1861 O. W. Norton Army Lett. (1903) 26 H. and I got enough [potatoes] for a mess, and some parsnips.
1883 J. C. Harris Nights with Uncle Remus iii. 30 Brer Rabbit, he hop in, he did, en got 'im a mess er greens, en hop out ag'in.
1908 M. E. Freeman Shoulders of Atlas 249 I wish you'd go out in the garden and pick a mess of green corn for supper.
1944 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. ii. 58 Mess..enough to make a meal: ‘a mess of greens (or turnips)’.
1982 in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (1996) III. 575/1 Mess—serving quantity.
d. Chiefly U.S. A take or haul of fish, esp. one sufficient to provide a meal.
ΚΠ
1577 Arte of Angling sig. Aviiv ‘But how now, al this while and not a fishe?..’ ‘I could be wel content to haue lesse talk now, my messe of fishe beeing so litle.’
1766 J. Rowe Diary in Lett. & Diary (1903) 97 After dinner we went & caught a mess of Trout.
1854 H. D. Thoreau Walden 338 I got a rare mess of golden and silver and bright cupreous fishes.
1881 W. O. Stoddard Esau Hardery 60 I caught a prime mess of eels last night.
1901 R. D. Evans Sailor's Log vi. 59 The captain..sent me a mess of the finest mackerel I ever saw.
1995 Denver Post 28 May (Post Mag.) 8/3 White's husband..remembers the many house calls he made, often for no more than a mess of catfish to take home to supper.
e. regional (North American and British). A (usually large) quantity or number of something.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > [noun] > a quantity or amount
fother13..
minda1325
quantitya1325
bodya1500
qt.1640
volume1702
some deal1710
lot1789
chance1805
mess1809
grist1832
jag1834
mense1841
1809 T. Batchelor Orthoëpical Anal. Dial. Bedfordshire v, in Orthoëpical Anal. Eng. Lang. 138 What a mes there is!
1826 R. S. Coffin Jonathan's Acct. Pilgrim People in W. Morgan Amer. Icon (1988) 121 A mess of folks where Plymouth lays, Stood on a rock amaz'd And there they lean'd, and loll'd, and set, All moping in the dumps.
1834 C. A. Davis Lett. J. Downing, Major iv. 40 With that, he out with his wallet, and unrolled a mess on 'em.
1866 R. Hallam Wadsley Jack xix. 99 Besoides a mess on it under his noase.
1890 P. H. Emerson Wild Life on Tidal Water 60 Depositing a ‘mess o' eels’ he had brought as a present.
1939 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Ingleside xxxviii. 300 Tell Susan Baker I'm much obliged for that mess of turnip greens she sent me.
1956 ‘B. Holiday’ & W. Dufty Lady sings Blues xix. 174 Just before I was set to go on for the second set a big mess of gardenias arrived backstage.
1989 Barron's 24 Apr. 48/2 These [desktop publishing systems] are..for big-time outfits that do a mess of printing and do it themselves or for independent print shops.
2.
a. A portion or serving of liquid or pulpy food such as milk, broth, porridge, boiled vegetables, etc.The expression a mess of pottage, alluding to the biblical story of Esau's sale of his birthright (Genesis 25:29–34), does not occur in the King James Bible (1611), although it is found in this context as early as c1452 (see quot.). It appears in the heading of Chapter 25 in the Bibles of 1537 and 1539, and in the Geneva Bible of 1560. Coverdale (1535) does not use the phrase, either in the text or the chapter heading (his words being ‘meace of meate’, ‘meace of ryse’), but he has it in 1 Chronicles 16:3 and Proverbs 15:7.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > consistency of food > [noun] > sloppy food
pap1286
messa1500
pults?1550
slop1658
slip-slop1675
soss1691
slop-dash1817
slosh1819
sozzle1823
slush1898
c1330 Horn Child 548 in J. Hall King Horn (1901) 185 (MED) Loke þou bring it bifor þe king..As he sittes at his des, Yserued of þe first mes.
c1390 in F. J. Furnivall Minor Poems Vernon MS (1901) ii. 535 Bettre is potage wiþ-outen oþur mes.
c1452 J. Capgrave Treat. Augustine Orders in J. J. Munro Capgrave's Lives St. Augustine & St. Gilbert (1910) 145 (MED) [Jacob] supplanted his broþir, bying his fader blessing for a mese of potage.
a1500 (?c1300) Bevis of Hampton (Cambr.) 83 But onys yn a weke a symple messe Of sodyn barley was hart lees.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection i. sig. Fii Som for a messe of potage, with Esau careth nat to sell the euerlastyng inheritaunce of heuen.
1594 T. Lodge & R. Greene Looking Glasse sig. C3v I want my mease of milke when I goe to my worke.
1595 A. Duncan Appendix Etymologiae: Index in Latinae Grammaticae Iusculum, a mease of brue.
1602 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor iii. i. 59 I had as leeue you should tel me of a messe of poredge.
a1641 T. Heywood & W. Rowley Fortune by Land & Sea (1655) iii. i Give..a word to the dayry maid for a mess of cream.
1645 J. Milton L'Allegro in Poems 34 Hearbs, and other Country Messes.
1669 J. Worlidge Systema Agriculturæ iv. 37 The Meal makes..good Pottage, and several other Messes.
1711 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 23 Dec. (1948) II. 444 I have..eaten only a mess of broth and a roll.
1790 Coll. Voy. round World V. x. 1771 Having observed several messes of porpoise broth preparing.
1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple II. xviii. 309 Peter, read me about Jacob, and his weathering Esau with a mess of pottage.
1884 Fortn. Rev. Mar. 379 They are fond of farinaceous messes.
1931 A. Uttley Country Child xiii. 180 They..took out beautiful copper saucepans filled with savoury messes which they put on the stove.
1963 M. L. King Strength to Love xvi. 131 You cannot in good conscience sell your birthright of freedom for a mess of segregated pottage.
1983 G. Lord Tooth & Claw x. 75 She stirred the mess of lentils.
†b. A kind of liquid or mixed food for an animal; a quantity of this. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > animal food > [noun]
mungc1380
battling1611
pabuluma1661
mess1738
wash1847
box food1886
premix1957
1738 A. Pope One Thousand Seven Hundred & Thirty Eight Dialogue II 12 If one [hog]..Has what the frugal, dirty soil affords, From him the next receives it, thick or thin, As pure a Mess almost as it came in.
1810 Sporting Mag. 36 251 The infernal mess alluded to..being ordered for race-horses.
1841 R. Browning Pippa Passes ii, in Bells & Pomegranates No. I 9/1 Only a page who carols unseen Crumbling your hounds their messes!
1861 C. M. Yonge Stokesley Secret i. 12 [He was] mixing a mess of warm milk for the young calves.
1894 T. D. English Select Poems 240 The cows have their mess, and the pigs get their corn.
c. An unappetizing, unpalatable, or disgusting dish or concoction; an ill-assorted mixture of any kind, a hotchpotch.
ΚΠ
1828 N. Webster Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. Mess,..2. A medley; a mixed mass.
1836 C. P. Traill Backwoods of Canada 124 Rice, sugar, currants, pepper and mustard all jumbled into one mess.
1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words II. 18 Mess, a hodge-podge, or dirty, disagreeable mixture. Any culinary preparation that is unpalatable would be called ‘a nasty mess’.
1921 D. H. Lawrence Sea & Sardinia iii. 123 How I am nauseated with sentiment and nobility, the macaroni slithery-slobbery mess of modern adorations.
1926 P. Smith Beadle (1929) 181 Jantje brought with him, secreted about his person, a horrible sticky mess of almond tommelaitjes.
1959 Times Lit. Suppl. 20 Mar. 156/3 He writes about subjects which, in less skilled hands, have so often and so embarrassingly degenerated into a mess of gush and goo.
1980 Jewish Chron. 29 Feb. 30/2 We were treated to a kaleidoscopic mess of fifties rip-offs, sixties platitudes and seventies mistakes.
3.
a. figurative. A situation or state of affairs that is confused or presents numerous difficulties; a troubled or embarrassed state or condition; a predicament.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > [noun] > difficult state of things
hard casec1325
box1546
pass1560
little-ease1589
a fine kettle1741
mess1812
how-do-you-do1835
hot mess1867
bed of nails1872
shitter1958
strife1963
1812 T. Creevey Let. 4 June in H. Maxwell Creevey Papers (1903) I. 164 Wellesley..was as good as turned out of Carlton House when he went back with Grey's refusal..and this accounts for the ‘violent personal objections’ which he describes Prinney as having to Grey... It is a rare mess, by God!
1819 J. Keats Let. 17 Sept. (1958) II. 186 My name with the literary fashionables is vulgar—..a Tragedy would lift me out of this mess.
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm II. 165 The London butcher..will..reject such cattle or sheep as are what is termed in a mess; that is, depressed, after excitation by being overlaid or overdriven.
1891 ‘S. C. Scrivener’ Our Fields & Cities 173 But never mind, Charlie boy, keep out of messes.
1949 N. Marsh Swing, Brother, Swing ix. 211 There's one thing..that's sticking out of this mess like a road-sign and I can't read it.
1994 Daily Mail 29 Sept. 9/1 He helped me..out of a terrible mess when I hadn't got a clue which way to turn.
b. A dirty or untidy state of things or of a place; a collection of disordered things, producing such a state.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > confusion or disorder > untidiness > [noun] > an untidy condition of things
state1806
flutterc1825
mess1826
muss1839
sozzle1848
1826 W. T. Moncrieff Tom & Jerry iii. v. 97 Log. You never use any chalk here..? Turn. It makes such a mess all over the walls.
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 173/1 They make it a rule when they receive neither beer nor money from a house to make as great a mess as possible the next time they come.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Mess,..the state of a ship in a sudden squall, when everything is let go and flying.
1917 J. Masefield Old Front Line v. 67 All this mess of heaps and hillocks is strung and filthied over with broken bodies and ruined gear.
1939 Archit. Rev. 85 213 Where hand-mixing [of plaster] is carried out the mess and waste that are inevitable when plaster is mixed on ‘banker-boards’ and then transferred to ‘spot-boards’ should be avoided where possible.
1985 M. Sachs Fat Girl ii. 11 It's a great house, but it's kind of a mess because Mrs Jenkins isn't much of a housekeeper.
c. to make a mess of: (a) to bungle or badly mishandle (an undertaking); (b) to put into a disordered, dirty, or otherwise imperfect state.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > inability > unskilfulness > be unskilled in [verb (transitive)] > bungle
botch1530
bungle1530
mumble1588
muddle1605
mash1642
bumble?1719
to fall through ——1726
fuck1776
blunder1805
to make a mull of1821
bitch1823
mess1823
to make a mess of1834
smudge1864
to muck up1875
boss1887
to make balls of1889
duff1890
foozle1892
bollocks1901
fluff1902
to make a muck of1903
bobble1908
to ball up1911
jazz1914
boob1915
to make a hash of1920
muff1922
flub1924
to make a hat of1925
to ass up1932
louse1934
screw1938
blow1943
to foul up1943
eff1945
balls1947
to make a hames of1947
to arse up1951
to fuck up1967
dork1969
sheg1981
bodge1984
1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple III. x. 131 We then talked over the attack of the privateer, in which we were beaten off. ‘Ah!’ replied the aide-de-camp, ‘you made a mess of that.’
1862 C. Darwin in Life & Lett. (1887) II. 392 I am rejoiced that I passed over the whole subject in the ‘Origin’, for I should have made a precious mess of it.
1883 R. Broughton Belinda II. iii. ii. 186 ‘For Heaven's sake, do not try!’ says Belinda, in serious dissuasion, ‘or you will be sure to make a mess of it!’
1958 J. Carew Wild Coast ii. 22 Boy, if you kill all the hardbacks that come in here you will make a mess of my clean floor.
1966 E. Wilson Jrnl. 17 Nov. in Sixties: Late Jrnl. (1993) 556 I had managed..to tell him [sc. W. H. Auden]..that his anthology of minor nineteenth-century verse had been made a mess of.
1995 N. Blincoe Acid Casuals xxvii. 208 You made a right fucking mess of my car, John Quay. I don't care to think about the fucking repair bill.
d. colloquial. A person who is dirty or untidy in appearance; (figurative) a person whose life or affairs are disorganized, esp. due to the influence of drink or drugs used habitually; an ineffectual or incompetent person.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupid, foolish, or inadequate person > foolish person, fool > [noun] > of small significance
dud1721
lightweight1831
tit1881
mess1891
schmuck1892
schmendrick1897
Little Willie1901
schlepper1901
wally1922
klutz1925
twerp1925
twit1934
jerk1935
schmo1937
shmegegge1937
schlep1939
sad sack1943
no-hoper1944
Joe Schmo1947
jerko1949
nerk1955
prat1955
schmucko1959
Herbert1960
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > condition of being held in contempt > [noun] > state or quality of being contemptible > contemptible person
wormc825
wretchOE
thingOE
hinderlingc1175
harlot?c1225
mixa1300
villain1303
whelpc1330
wonnera1340
bismera1400
vilec1400
beasta1425
creaturec1450
dog bolt1465
fouling?a1475
drivel1478
shit1508
marmoset1523
mammeta1529
pilgarlica1529
pode1528
slave1537
slim1548
skit-brains?1553
grasshopper1556
scavenger1563
old boss1566
rag1566
shrub1566
ketterela1572
shake-rag1571
skybala1572
mumpsimus1573
smatchetc1582
squib1586
scabship1589
vassal1589
baboon1592
Gibraltar1593
polecat1593
mushroom1594
nodc1595
cittern-head1598
nit1598
stockfish1598
cum-twang1599
dish-wash1599
pettitoe1599
mustard-token1600
viliaco1600
cargo1602
stump1602
snotty-nose1604
sprat1605
wormling1605
brock1607
dogfly?1611
shag-rag1611
shack-rag1612
thrum1612
rabbita1616
fitchock1616
unworthy1616
baseling1618
shag1620
glow-worm1624
snip1633
the son of a worm1633
grousea1637
shab1637
wormship1648
muckworm1649
whiffler1659
prig1679
rotten egg1686
prigster1688
begged fool1693
hang-dog1693
bugger1694
reptile1697
squinny1716
snool1718
ramscallion1734
footer1748
jackass1756
hallion1789
skite1790
rattlesnake1791
snot1809
mudworm1814
skunk1816
stirrah1816
spalpeen1817
nyaff1825
skin1825
weed1825
tiger1827
beggar1834
despicability1837
squirt1844
prawn1845
shake1846
white mouse1846
scurf1851
sweep1853
cockroach1856
bummer1857
medlar1859
cunt1860
shuck1862
missing link1863
schweinhund1871
creepa1876
bum1882
trashbag1886
tinhorn1887
snot-rag1888
rodent1889
whelpling1889
pie eatera1891
mess1891
schmuck1892
fucker1893
cheapskate1894
cocksucker1894
gutter-bird1896
perisher1896
skate1896
schmendrick1897
nyamps1900
ullage1901
fink1903
onion1904
punk1904
shitepoke1905
tinhorn sport1906
streeler1907
zob1911
stink1916
motherfucker1918
Oscar1918
shitass1918
shit-face1923
tripe-hound1923
gimp1924
garbage can1925
twerp1925
jughead1926
mong1926
fuck?1927
arsehole1928
dirty dog1928
gazook1928
muzzler1928
roach1929
shite1929
mook1930
lug1931
slug1931
woodchuck1931
crud1932
dip1932
bohunkus1933
lint-head1933
Nimrod1933
warb1933
fuck-piga1935
owl-hoot1934
pissant1935
poot1935
shmegegge1937
motheree1938
motorcycle1938
squiff1939
pendejo1940
snotnose1941
jerkface1942
slag1943
yuck1943
fuckface?1945
fuckhead?1945
shit-head1945
shite-hawk1948
schlub1950
asswipe1953
mother1955
weenie1956
hard-on1958
rass hole1959
schmucko1959
bitch ass1961
effer1961
lamer1961
arsewipe1962
asshole1962
butthole1962
cock1962
dipshit1963
motherfuck1964
dork1965
bumhole1967
mofo1967
tosspot1967
crudball1968
dipstick1968
douche1968
frickface1968
schlong1968
fuckwit1969
rassclaat1969
ass1970
wank1970
fecker1971
wanker1971
butt-fucker1972
slimeball1972
bloodclaat1973
fuckwad1974
mutha1974
suck1974
cocksuck1977
tosser1977
plank1981
sleazebag1981
spastic1981
dweeb1982
bumboclaat1983
dickwad1983
scuzzbag1983
sleazeball1983
butt-face1984
dickweed1984
saddie1985
butt plug1986
jerkweed1988
dick-sucker1989
microcephalic1989
wankstain1990
sadster1992
buttmunch1993
fanny1995
jackhole1996
fassyhole1997
fannybaws2000
fassy2002
1891 C. Wordsworth Rutland Words (at cited word) She's a poor mess. She can't go out to sarvice: she's a weakly mess.
1936 M. Mitchell Gone with the Wind i. vi. 122 ‘Oh,’ thought Scarlett... ‘To have that mealy-mouthed little mess take up for me!’
1938 E. Bowen Death of Heart i. ii. 40 From what you say, her mother was quite a mess.
1965 M. Spark Mandelbaum Gate iv. 104 These were lapsed Jews, lapsed Arabs, lapsed citizens, runaway Englishmen, dancing prostitutes, international messes.
1979 E. Hardwick Sleepless Nights iv. 5 She began..to speak of her son. A mess... Drugs?... Of course.
1987 T. Wolfe Bonfire of Vanities (1988) iv. 98 His hair felt like a bird's nest. He was a mess.
1990 J. Eberts & T. Ilott My Indecision is Final lvii. 615 He was mentally destroyed by December. He was a mess. He was exhausted.
e. colloquial (euphemistic). Excrement, esp. that of an animal deposited in an inappropriate place. Esp. in to make a mess.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > excretions > faeces > [noun]
gorec725
mixeOE
quedeeOE
turdeOE
dungOE
worthinga1225
dirta1300
drega1300
naturea1325
fen1340
ordurec1390
fimea1475
merd1486
stercory1496
avoidc1503
siegec1530
fex1540
excrement1541
hinder-fallings1561
gong1562
foil1565
voiding1577
pilgrim-salvec1580
egestion1583
shita1585
sir-reverence1592
purgament1597
filinga1622
faecesa1625
exclusion1646
faecality1653
tantadlin1654
surreverence1655
draught1659
excrementitiousness1660
jakes1701
old golda1704
dejection1728
dejecture1731
shitea1733
feculence1733
doll1825
crap1846
excreta1857
excretes1883
hockey1886
dejecta1887
job1899
number two1902
mess1903
ming1923
do1930
tomtit1930
pony1931
No. 21937
dog shit1944
Shinola1944
big job1945
biggie1953
doo-doo1954
doings1957
gick1959
pooh1960
pooh-pooh1962
dooky1965
poopy1970
whoopsie1973
pucky1980
jobbie1981
the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > defecation or urination > defecation > [verb (intransitive)]
dritea1000
to do one's filthheadc1300
shit?c1335
to go to siegec1400
scumbera1425
cack1436
to do one's easementa1438
to ease nature, ease oneselfc1440
skite1449
to do of one's needingsc1475
fen1486
dung1508
spurge1530
to cover his feet1535
lask1540
stool1540
to exonerate nature1542
file1564
fiant1575
cucka1605
wray1620
exonerate1631
excrement1632
to do one's ease1645
sir-reverence1665
excrementizec1670
nest1679
poop1689
move1699
defecate1837
crap1874
mire1918
to make a mess1928
mess1937
to go poo-poo (also poo-poos)1960
potty1972
to do a whoopsie (or whoopsies)1973
pooh1975
the world > animals > animal body > general parts > substance or secretion and excretion > [verb (intransitive)] > excrete
fumay1486
dung1508
defile1547
to make a mess1928
1903 Eng. Dial. Dict. Mess, Ordure, the quantity of dung excreted at one time.
1928 R. Kipling Limits & Renewals (1932) 50 It's [sc. a dog] made a mess in the corner.
1939 A. Huxley After Many a Summer i. x. 138 A lovely stinking little baby who still made messes in its bed.
1940 N. Mitford Pigeon Pie ix. 144 Perhaps, she thought, the bird wants to go out... It made a mess on her skirt.
1986 U. Holden Tin Toys (1987) ii. 19 I wasn't allowed to look at dogs' messes on the roadside.
f. colloquial (chiefly U.S.). Nonsense, rubbish; insolence, abuse.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > nonsense, rubbish > [noun]
magged talea1387
moonshine1468
trumperyc1485
foolishness1531
trash1542
baggage1545
flim-flam1570
gear1570
rubbisha1576
fiddle-faddle1577
stuff1579
fible-fable1581
balductum1593
pill1608
nonsense1612
skimble-skamble1619
porridge1642
mataeology1656
fiddle-come-faddle1663
apple sauce1672
balderdash1674
flummery1749
slang1762
all my eye1763
diddle-daddle1778
(all) my eye (and) Betty Martin1781
twaddle1782
blancmange1790
fudge1791
twiddle-twaddle1798
bothering1803
fee-faw-fum1811
slip-slop1811
nash-gab1816
flitter-tripe1822
effutiation1823
bladderdash1826
ráiméis1828
fiddlededee1843
pickles1846
rot1846
kelter1847
bosh1850
flummadiddle1850
poppycock1852
Barnum1856
fribble-frabble1859
kibosh1860
skittle1864
cod1866
Collyweston1867
punk1869
slush1869
stupidness1873
bilge-water1878
flapdoodle1878
tommyrot1880
ruck1882
piffle1884
flamdoodle1888
razzmatazz1888
balls1889
pop1890
narrischkeit1892
tosh1892
footle1894
tripe1895
crap1898
bunk1900
junk1906
quatsch1907
bilge1908
B.S.1912
bellywash1913
jazz1913
wash1913
bullshit?1915
kid-stakes1916
hokum1917
bollock1919
bullsh1919
bushwa1920
noise1920
bish-bosh1922
malarkey1923
posh1923
hooey1924
shit1924
heifer dust1927
madam1927
baloney1928
horse feathers1928
phonus-bolonus1929
rhubarb1929
spinach1929
toffeea1930
tomtit1930
hockey1931
phoney baloney1933
moody1934
cockalorum1936
cock1937
mess1937
waffle1937
berley1941
bull dust1943
crud1943
globaloney1943
hubba-hubba1944
pish1944
phooey1946
asswipe1947
chickenshit1947
slag1948
batshit1950
goop1950
slop1952
cack1954
doo-doo1954
cobbler1955
horse shit1955
nyamps1955
pony1956
horse manure1957
waffling1958
bird shit1959
codswallop1959
how's your father1959
dog shit1963
cods1965
shmegegge1968
pucky1970
taradiddle1970
mouthwash1971
wank1974
gobshite1977
mince1985
toss1990
arse1993
1937 in Weevils in Wheat (1976) 4 You don' have ter take dat mess offen him.
1966 R. Price Generous Man (1967) i. 13 You set there talking mess while my dog is suffering and dying maybe.
1998 Sported! 12 Mar. 5/1 Lezza believes completely in his own abilities and hates answering daft reporters' questions. He won't take any mess from anybody.
4. U.S. regional (chiefly south Midland). An entertaining, witty, or puzzling person.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > [noun] > one who or that which is comical
comedy1535
toy1542
jest1602
joke1670
comic1674
high comedy1707
humorous1753
comicality1796
funny1852
funniosity1871
hot sketch1917
pisser1918
riot1919
panic1921
cocasserie1934
yell1938
mess1952
crack-up1961
1952 F. C. Brown Coll. N. Carolina Folklore I. 564 Mess,..a person regarded as more witty, lively, entertaining, etc., than most people; a ‘show’. ‘Now ain't Mr. Jim a mess!’
1970 C. Major Dict. Afro-Amer. Slang 81 Mess.., to say to someone, ‘You're a mess’, is to imply that he or she is remarkable or puzzling.
1972 in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (1996) III. 575/1 Mrs. Wright had her feelings bruised when someone said that she was a mess... The person meant she was fun to be with, not sloppy.
II. A company of people eating together.
5.
a. Originally: any of the small groups, normally of four people sitting together and served from the same dishes, into which the company at a banquet was usually divided (now only with reference to benchers' and law-students' dinners at the English Inns of Court). Hence: any company of persons, esp. members of an institution or professional body, who regularly take their meals together.Now used chiefly in Military contexts (see sense 5b), in Law (where in England the term continues to be applied to a dinner held by the local bar for the benefit of judges on circuit), and in some English public schools.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > feasting > [noun] > feaster > group at feast
seatc1175
feastc1300
messa1450
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eating in specific conditions > [noun] > eating in company > group eating together
messa1450
table1508
tea-table1712
mess1858
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eating in specific conditions > [noun] > eating in company > group eating together > in Inns of Court
mess1654
a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Hist. Holy Grail xiii. 359 Whanne Tholome his mes-men he sawh so fle.
a1475 J. Russell Bk. Nurture (Harl. 4011) in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 188 Bisshoppes, Merques, vicount, Erle..May sytte at .ij. messeȝ..ij. or els iij. at a messe, ȝeff þey be greable.
a1475 J. Russell Bk. Nurture (Harl. 4011) in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 188 Of alle oþur estates to a messe ye may sette foure, & foure.
c1500 (?a1475) Assembly of Gods (1896) 257 (MED) So he her set furst at hys owne messe.
1591 in W. Greenwell Wills & Inventories Registry Durham (1860) II. 199 For the charges of xij mease, that dyned at his owne house, 2l . 8d .
1607 F. Beaumont Woman Hater i. ii. sig. B1v Nor should there stand any..pyes, at the nether end fill'd with mosse and stones, partly to make a shew with, and partly to keepe the lower messe from eating.
1654 T. Gataker Disc. Apol. 40 His fellow-Benchers that were in the same Messe with him.
1681 N. Luttrell Diary in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) I. 99 An addresse..was moved by some in the hall [in Grayes Inn] that day at dinner, and being (as is usuall) sent to the barr messe to be by them recommended to the bench.
1797 J. Farington Diary 17 Nov. (1923) I. lxiii. 221 The Benchers have a table covered with luxuries... Four in each Class form a mess.
1821 in New-Eng. Historical & Geneal. Reg. (1876) XXX. 191 Here a number of members [of Congress], vulgarly called a ‘Mess’, put up, and have a separate table.
1866 R. B. Mansfield School Life Winchester Coll. (1870) 219 [Winchester] The Præfects' tables in Hall were called ‘Tub, Middle, and Junior Mess’ respectively.
1899 J. B. Atlay Famous Trials 388 Dr. Kenealy's fellow-barristers on the Oxford Circuit called upon him to show cause before the mess on the allegation of having [etc.]... He declined to appear, and was duly expelled from the mess.
1972 D. Onyeama Nigger at Eton i. 26 One of the privileges at Eton was that boys could have tea in their own rooms, with no more than six friends. Such a group was known as a ‘mess’.
b. Each of the groups into which a military unit or ship's company is divided, the members of each group taking their meals together. Later also: the place where meals are taken by such groups; a place where personnel, esp. of similar rank, regularly eat or take recreation together (also occasionally in non-military contexts).Recorded earliest in nautical contexts.to lose (or settle) the number of one's mess: see number n. Phrases 5.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > unit of army > [noun] > group lodging or messing together
mess1536
camarada1598
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eating in specific conditions > [noun] > eating in company > group eating together > in army or navy
mess1536
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eating in specific conditions > [noun] > eating in company > group eating together
messa1450
table1508
tea-table1712
mess1858
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eating place > [noun] > canteen
kitchen tent1640
canteen1870
mess1886
NAAFI1927
stolovaya1943
cantina1959
1536 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1905) VI. 450 The expensis of xxxij meis of marineris, gunnaris, and utheris in the New Havin.
1599 E. Wright Certaine Errors Navigation 17 They willingly agreed, that euery mease should bee allowed at one meale but halfe so much drinke as they were accustomed.
1627 J. Smith Sea Gram. ix. 39 To messe them foure to a messe.
1745 D. Bradstreet Diary 18 July (1897) 25 I Delivd 6 Days allowance of meat To every mess & One Days allowance of Peas; a Sheep Delivd to each Compy and pint of wine to Each man.
1772 T. Simes Mil. Guide Young Officers 200 When the regiment is in barracks, a Subaltern Officer is daily to visit them, the messes and regimental infirmary.
1822 Gen. Regul. & Orders Army 123 Commanding Officers are enjoined, when practicable, to form a Serjeants' Mess, as the means of supporting their consequence and respectability in the Corps.
1858 P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products Mess..a number of men who take their meals together; thus in vessels of war there are ward-room and gun-room messes, comprising commissioned and subordinate officers. The seamen and marines' messes consist of a dozen or more under the superintendence of a non-commissioned or petty officer.
1886 S. Baring-Gould Court Royal iv When one of H.M. vessels was put in commission, the mess was furnished with new linen, plate, china, glass.
1890 G. Stables For England, Home, & Beauty xvi. 234 The mess to which this man belonged is little more than a hot-bed of mutiny.
1934 G. B. Shaw Too True to be Good ii. 76 The conversation in the officers' mess doesnt suit me.
1957 A. C. Clarke Deep Range ii. 29 Lunch will be coming up in half an hour over at the Mess—that building we passed on the way in.
1985 Radio Times 20 July 9/1 Doctors' messes are usually highly amusing places.
1992 Ships Monthly Apr. 14/3 Wardroom, junior and senior rates' messes, galley and auxiliary machinery are one deck below.
c. Chiefly Military. Without article. Mealtime, or a meal, which takes place at a mess.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eating in specific conditions > [noun] > eating in company
commensality1611
comessation1647
commensationa1682
mess1778
messing1803
syssitia1846
1778 Camp Guide 7 I'm summon'd to mess.
1806 R. Wilson in Life Gen. Sir R. Wilson (1862) I. ii. 60 My chief resistance to discipline was at mess where I could not brook the duties of Boots.
1876 W. Besant & J. Rice Golden Butterfly I. xiii. 270 One evening after mess he told Colquhoun that [etc.].
1911 E. Ferber Buttered Side Down (1941) 218 There were pictures taken on board ship, showing frolics..and the men at mess, and each sailor sleeping snug as a bug in his hammock.
1968 S. L. Elliott Rusty Bugles in Three Austral. Plays i. iii. 54 Anyone going over for mess?
†d. gen. A communal meal. Cf. table n. 6b. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > meal > [noun] > communal or public meal
ordinar1553
public table1561
ordinary1589
penny-commons1615
fellowshipa1650
ordinary suppera1661
house dinner1818
table d'hôte1821
grubbery1831
syssitia1835
mess1840
hall1861
potluck1867
syssition1874
1840 T. Arnold Hist. Rome II. 551 The members of the aristocracy [of Athens] had their clubs, where they habitually met at a common mess or public table.
1861 G. F. Berkeley Eng. Sportsman xiv. 239 He never brought anything from my kitchen to the general mess.
1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 26 There were public messes, as they were called, but these were not..analogous to the Spartan Syssitia.
†6. gen. A company or group of four persons or things. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > four > [noun] > group of four
quaternionc1384
quadrivial?a1475
messa1529
quaternity1529
quaternio1601
mournival1631
quadrate1637
quaternarya1638
tetrad1653
quadruplet1795
quartetto1807
quatrain1862
quartet1882
quad1896
a1529 J. Skelton Magnyfycence (?1530) sig. Ciiii Let me se..Yf I can fynde out, So semely a snowte Amonge this prese, Euen a hole mese.
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost iv. iii. 205 You three fooles, lackt me foole, to make vp the messe . View more context for this quotation
1617 (title) Ianva Lingvarvm Qvadrilingvis, or a Messe of Tongves: Latine, English, French, and Spanish. Neatly serued vp together, for a wholesome repast.
a1640 J. Fletcher et al. Faire Maide of Inne iii. i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Fffffffv/1 The Messe And halfe of suiters.
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) i. 13 I meet with a mess of English Natives advanced to that Honour... Yea, I assure you, four Popes was a very fair proportion for England.
1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) (at cited word) The number of four at an entertainment at an inn, where a stipulation was made for a party to dinner at a certain price per mess, or meos.
†7. U.S. Short for mess beef n. at Compounds 2. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > animals for food > beef > [noun] > cured beef
jerkin beef1612
beef-ham1815
mess1855
pastrami1899
jerkin1954
1855 N.Y. Weekly Tribune 6 Jan. 5/4 Our market is again lower, and is dull for Mess and Prime Mess.
1859 N.Y. Herald 1 Jan. 8/5 Prime mess was quiet... Bacon and cut meats were quiet, and prices unchanged.
1884 Harper's Mag. July 299/1 The average weight of the class of animals used for ‘mess’ and ‘canning’ is 950 pounds... The division [of the carcasses] is made into..pieces..viz. loins, ribs, mess, plates, chucks, rolls, rumps, [etc.]... ‘Extra mess’ is composed of chucks, plates, rumps, and flanks.
8. Short for mess boy n. at Compounds 2. Chiefly used in the vocative.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > sailor > sailors involved in specific duties or activities > [noun] > servants attendants
cabin boy1726
mess boy1813
steward1836
stewardess1837
peggy1902
mess1927
winger1929
1927 J. F. Leys After you, Magellan! iii. 31 The fireman, having missed his breakfast prunes..accused mess of giving them to some one else.
1928 E. Blunden Undertones of War ii. 12 A call, ‘Mess’, produced a young soldier like Mr. Pickwick's Fat Boy in khaki, who went away with his orders, and soon I was given a large enamel plate full of meat and vegetable rations.
1961 G. Foulser Seaman's Voice ix. 137 Our messboy, Michael Olsen, came from Hønefoss... ‘Mess’ was a likeable kid.
1972 E. N. Cleaves Sea Fever 37 Well, mess..what have we today?

Compounds

C1. General attributive.
a. (In sense 3.) mess-maker, -making: see as main entries.
b. (In sense 5.)
mess article n.
ΚΠ
1806 European Mag. 50 489/2 The Officers lost their baggage, most of their mess articles, live stock, and a considerable quantity of wine.
1898 Rifle Brigade Chron. i. 49 The cooking frocks and mess chest are a general charge and property; but all other mess articles are the property of squads, and of individuals in those squads.
1917 J. H. Ford Elem. Field Hygiene & Sanitation (1918) vii. 160 Mediate contact infection may follow the use of some article which the infected person has used, eg, handkerchiefs, toilet articles, pipes, mess articles, rifle, etc.
2008 M. V. Armstrong Unfurl those Colors! ii. 48 A soldier was expected to carry..mess articles such as a tin plate, tin cup, tin knife and fork, a blanket, [etc.].
mess bag n.
ΚΠ
1848 G. C. Furber Twelve Months Volunteer 60 We got our mess-bags, containing our cooking utensils and provisions, and, with plenty of dry wood and first rate water, we were perfectly at home.
1885 Outing 7 55/1 From some dark corner of the messbags, or petacas, he unearthed a handful of dried apples.
1945 Boys' Life Mar. 14/2 Mess Bag containing: 1 Plate 1 Soup Bowl 1 Knife 1 Fork 1 Spoon 1 Teaspoon 1 Dish Towel.
1995 L. Mahood Policing Gender v. 68 ‘Tailoring’.. included the sewing of uniforms, towels, underwear, mess bags and nightclothes.
mess basket n.
ΚΠ
1831 H. R. Schoolcraft Let. 24 Oct. in Public Documents U.S. Senate (22nd Congress, 1st Sess.) (1832) II. No. 90. 41 The wants of trade render it necessary to add oilcloths, tents, mess-baskets, duck-hats, socks, shoes, [etc.].
1922 W. G. Bruce Hist. Milwaukee I. vi. 72 A most important feature of the cargo was the mess basket, one of the great comforts of the trip.
1998 L. Macdonald To Last Man viii. 111 The mess basket that accompanied Brigade Headquarters to its forward battle position contained an ample supply of linen tablecloths and napkins, silver cutlery and glassware.
mess berth n. now historical and rare
ΚΠ
1827 P. Cunningham Two Years New S. Wales II. xxix. 218 All the mess-berths and mess articles numbered according to their corresponding messes.
1838 M. H. Barker in Bentley's Misc. Feb. 200 Along the mess-berths were ranged the watch below.
1897 F. G. Burton Naval Engin. & Command of Sea viii. 81 They do not wish for a separate cabin for each engine-room artificer..but only for an enclosed mess berth.
1913 R. H. Harris From Naval Cadet to Admiral vi. 54 Our mess berth was a small one, and if compared with a midshipman's berth of a modern ship, rather overcrowded.
mess bill n.
ΚΠ
1811 Royal Mil. Chron. Dec. 78 Some regiments have laws, that the mess-bill of each member should be discharged weekly.
1917 W. Owen Let. 24 May (1967) 464 There have been a number of Mess Bills, & other cheques drawn lately.
1963 Times 24 May 14/7 Chits were signed, which sooner or later found their way to the Mess and appeared on one's mess-bill.
2006 N. Speke Path of Eriss iv. 120 Major Mac, as he was known to me, liked his whisky, and his mess bill was enormous.
† mess bread n. Obsolete rare
ΚΠ
1615 E. Sharpe Britaines Busse sig. Bv Baskets for Mes-bread.
mess cabin n. now historical
ΚΠ
1819 J. H. Vaux Memoirs I. vii. 70 I was free from interruption, only frequenting the mess cabin at meal times, or when I was inclined for company.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Ward-room, the commissioned officers' mess cabin.
1905 Law Rep.: King's Bench Div. II. 140 There was a mess cabin provided by the employers on the works at which the men could get necessary refreshment.
1997 A. Norton & S. Smith Mind for Trade iii. 31 The new crew still held all their meetings..in the mess cabin.
mess chest n.
ΚΠ
1809 Liber Facetiarum 86 Let us first see if he have not got the key of our mess-chest in his pocket!
1890 Overland Monthly July 94 Their mess chest was conspicuous by its absence from the company's baggage.
1907 Gen. Orders 7 Aug. in Rep. Adjutant-Gen. Michigan (1909) 130 The proper baggage for a company is a bread box, mess chest, extra clothing boxes, and field range with outfit.
2001 L. Schleining Treasure Chests vii. 158 This compact mess chest from the collection of the Smithsonian Institution illustrates the shift in Washington's circumstances.
mess cloth n. now historical and rare
ΚΠ
1839 C. F. Briggs Adventures Harry Franco I. xxiii. 250 Throwing down my knife..I leaped on to the messcloth, and gave him a blow in the eye.
1850 H. Melville White-jacket xv. 75 The boatswain had piped the hands to dinner; my mess-cloth was set out, and my messmates were assembled.
1902 Sanitarian Aug. 103 The use of..tables and benches in lieu of mess-cloths, is a most wholesome change.
2004 M. J. Bennett Union Jacks ii. 47 The meals were placed on a mess cloth, which was usually nothing more than a tarred piece of canvas laid between two guns or on chests on the berth deck.
mess cook n.
ΚΠ
1787 Walker's Hibernian Mag. Nov. 574/1 His mother was mess-cook to a regiment, which may account for his adroitness in the culinary art.
1829 G. Jones Sketches Naval Life I. 4 They are excluded from this in day time except at meals: the mess cooks only are allowed to remain.
1918 L. E. Ruggles Navy Explained 124 When there is not enough of the first issue of rations the mess cook is requested to go to the galley and get ‘seconds’.
1995 Sun (Baltimore) (Nexis) 5 July a17 Black sailors, with rare exceptions, were mess cooks or stewards, and their principal task was to wait upon the officers.
mess deck n.
ΚΠ
1825 J. Weddell Voy. S. Pole iv. 97 The Commodore hoped to save his vessel;..but..the mess-deck was constantly covered, which cut off all prospects of recovering her.
1855 J. Ogilvie Suppl. Imperial Dict. Mess-deck, in the navy, the deck on which a ship's crew mess.
1976 P. C. Smith Fighting Flotilla i. 25 The mess decks were very slightly roomier, with a better galley and washing facilities.
2009 G. A. Freeman Troubled Water i. 1 They crashed on their simple metal racks in the berthing compartment under the aft mess deck.
mess dinner n.
ΚΠ
1796 T. Morton Way to get Married i. i. 10 I was tired of the routine, field-days, parade, mess-dinners, and so——.
1885 A. Edwardes Girton Girl I. xiv. 283 The usual guest-night at mess. Curious how precisely alike all mess dinners are.
1994 R. Davies Cunning Man 197 One night after a mess dinner, when we were all in full dress..some of these young Russian aristocrats..asked me if I would like to be introduced to a new game.
mess fire n.
ΚΠ
1837 W. Irving Rocky Mountains I. ii. 36 The various mess-fires were surrounded by picturesque groups, standing, sitting, and reclining.
1892 Century Illustr. Monthly Mag. Jan. 361/1 The men with haversack and tin cup went to the mess fire and got their hardtack, meat, and coffee.
1919 Blackwood's Mag. Apr. 536/1 I'd suggest that you pack your bedroll and eat the porridge at the mess fire, and then set about learning our ways.
2004 W. Blevins Beauty for Ashes xxix. 355 Gideon hobbled from mess fire to mess fire.
mess fund n.
ΚΠ
1811 Royal Mil. Chron. Mar. 387 Each officer, upon being appointed, should pay..an half-yearly subscription (somewhat similar to a mess fund).
1831 Casket Sept. 395/1 A sense of guilt, as also..fears respecting the embezzlement of the Mess Funds caused his confession.
1970 V. Canning Great Affair xii. 216 Ex-pilot officer Robinson, cashiered for fiddling the mess funds.
2001 J. D. Wright Lang. Civil War 190/2 They often collected a mess fund to supplement rations.
mess gear n.
ΚΠ
1830 Fraser's Mag. Oct. 310/2 The chests, the wash-tubs, the clothes-bags, the mess-gear, every thing in short had broken loose.
1918 L. E. Ruggles Navy Explained 98 Mess gear, the tableware, plates, cups, saucers, food containers and implements used by mess cooks.
1945 Mil. Affairs 9 43 He came back with a new jacket and shining mess gear.
2010 J. R. Barry Basking in Cold War xi. 100 Redfern stumbled over a root and his mess gear jangled a little.
mess hall n.
ΚΠ
1821 L. Morrissy Devel. Inquisitorial Syst. Irel. 219 One day a certain priest..went into the mess-hall at the male side, to deliver his instructions to the young felons there.
1843 N. Amer. Rev. 57 274 The highest Cadet Captain is superintendent of the mess hall.
1958 Listener 6 Nov. 717/1 Food eaten at the communal mess-hall [in China].
2011 J. L. Watson in E. Zhang et al. Governance Life in Chinese Moral Experience i. 35 At the height of the Great Leap,..the central government began to call for the organization of public mess halls in the Chinese countryside.
mess-list n.
ΚΠ
1799 Monthly Rev. 30 App. 500 They [sc. tables] also contain sundry other lists, respecting the interior government of a ship, even to the hammock and mess lists.
1827 P. Cunningham Two Years New S. Wales II. xxix. 219 On the mess-list being arranged upon deck, they are..placed..in their respective messes.
1904 Thin Red Line Sept. 66/2 The class of Pay-sergeants who commenced work some months ago have now completed their course of study of the art of compiling company pay and mess lists, muster rolls, [etc.].
2006 J. MacDonald Feeding Nelson's Navy iv. 109 A new captain..would be able to gauge the nature of the crew by studying the purser's mess-lists.
mess meat n.
ΚΠ
1848 J. Syme Nine Yrs. Van Diemen's Land 185 For dinner there is the same quantity of soup, in which the mess meat has been boiled.
1876 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Words Whitby Messmeats,..hashes or minced meats.
1903 Daily Chron. 29 Dec. 5/3 Russia has given..an urgent order for 1,000,000lb. of mess meat.
2006 R. Horowitz Putting Meat on Amer. Table iii. 54 Prime mess meat had to be in four-pound square chunks.
mess-money n.
ΚΠ
1810 Naval Chron. 23 85 A Court Martial has been holden on Captain John Spearing..being accused by the ward-room officers of embezzling their mess money.
1875 Appletons' Jrnl. 15 May 617 He was dismissed with a ‘discharge ticket’, and a small sum of accumulated mess-money.
1918 Mentor Apr. 226/2 Each pay day all members of the mess paid the caterer their mess money.
2004 R. E. Miller Messman Chron. vi. 104 Our mess money comes through the officer's mess, but we can't eat what the officers eat.
mess pan n.
ΚΠ
1813 Weekly Reg. (Baltimore) 3 295/2 [List of Military Supplies] Mess pans.
1888 J. D. Billings Hardtack & Coffee (new ed.) 136 A mess pan stands about six inches high, and is a foot in diameter at the top.
1906 Proc. U.S. Naval Inst. 32 637 Inspect coffee pots and mess pans, and refuse to serve into any but scrupulously clean ones.
2010 J. R. Barry Basking in Cold War viii. 75 The two mess pans fit together into one unit with the spoon, fork, and knife rattling around inside.
mess pot n.
ΚΠ
1833 A. De Lamartine Jrnl. 25 May in Pilgrimage to Holy Land (1835) III. 14 An Egyptian officer struck a Turkish soldier: the Janissaries threw down their mess-pots.
1857 R. Glisan Jrnl. Army Life (1874) viii. 86 I shall be able to say good bye to the messpots of Uncle Sam.
1943 B. I. Wiley Life Johnny Reb xv. 306 The tin cup which, when not in use as a mess pot, dangled conveniently from the belt.
2006 T. A. Johnson To Limit i. 6 He brings the water to a rolling boil in one of his five-gallon stainless steel mess pots, then simply pours in the coffee grounds.
mess-room n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eating place > [noun] > dining-room
parlourc1384
cenaclea1400
triclinec1440
dining room?1576
dining hall1598
eating-room1613
triclinium1646
supper rooma1661
coffee-room1712
breakfast-room1732
salle-à-manger1762
mess-room1774
refreshment room1785
breakfast-parlour1802
noon-hall1828
dinner room1853
Speisesaal1871
diner1907
dinette1920
breakfast-nook1931
brunch bar1940
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > room > room by type of use > [noun] > dining room
cenaclea1400
triclinec1440
parlour1526
dining room?1576
dining hall1598
eating-room1613
triclinium1646
supper rooma1661
coffee-room1712
salle-à-manger1762
mess-room1774
sala1774
noon-hall1828
dinner room1853
Speisesaal1871
diner1907
dinette1920
1774 Edwin & Julia xxii. 119 A parcel of young fellows, either at a common hall in a university, or in a mess-room with a regiment.
1855 W. M. Thackeray Newcomes II. xxxiii. 298 Not disturbed by the mess-room raillery of the Campaigner.
1914 V. Havard Man. Mil. Hygiene U.S. xxxix. 477 The first requirement from these men is cleanliness, in their persons and in all parts of the kitchen and mess-room for which they are responsible.
2005 C. Wanjek Food at Work vi. 204 The new mess room has room for 2000. Over 90 per cent of the employees use it.
mess sergeant n.
ΚΠ
1820 Let. Secretary of War (U.S. Congress, Comm. Mil. Affairs) 34 Had not Sergeant Whetten been for a long time the mess sergeant, and what was his character?
1859 J. Lang Wanderings in India 361 I will introduce to you all the servants—the mess-sergeant especially.
1945 H. Brown Artie Greengroin 182 Someday that mess sergeant is going to fill the Spam full of arsenic and knock off the whole company for a laugh.
2001 W. W. Putney Always Faithful v. 82 There was an allowance of 28 cents per man per day and mess sergeants are supposed to handle their accounts so as to come out even.
mess shack n.
ΚΠ
1899 J. R. Skinner Hist. 4th Illinois Volunteers 131 The captain..settled it in a very decisive way by consigning the sticks to the top of the mess shack, where there was an abundance of room.
1918 Stars & Stripes 29 Mar. 7/5 In seating guests at a mess shack table, they should be arranged from left to right, in order of seniority.
2004 R. C. Daniels 1220 Days v. 65 A detail from each shack would carry the rice and soup from the mess shack to our sleeping quarters.
mess stool n.
ΚΠ
1832 Brit. Critic July 92 The carpenters and the watch on deck soon carry aft their benches and mess-stools; but..these are not sufficient to afford accommodation for all hands.
1916 ‘Taffrail’ Pincher Martin xvi. 305 He stretched himself at full length on a hard and very uncomfortable mess-stool, and went off to sleep.
2007 R. Walsh In Company Heroes vi. 75 I got myself a long mess stool, set it down on the upper deck under cover from the overhead of the canteen flat.
mess table n.
ΚΠ
1801 D. Morrice Art Teaching vi. 100 He should never suffer them to come to the mess table, or into the school cabbin, without very clean hands and faces.
1895 M. A. Jackson Mem. Stonewall Jackson xi. 191 I took my meals with him and the staff at their mess-table.
1913 Boys' Life July 13/1 Is the mess table properly screened? If no mess table, is food eaten at the tents or at the kitchen?
2009 L. Block Aboard Farragut Class Destroyers ii. 28 Every man had his own place at the mess table and his own place setting consisting of a plate, coffee mug and knife, fork and spoon.
mess tent n.
ΚΠ
1774 Ld. Harris in Life & Services (1845) 34 She..passed close by our mess-tent.
1868 Harper's Mag. Feb. 299/2 He..finally returned to the mess-tent to discover five or six large snakes lying at length on the mess-chest.
1989 K. Dunn Geek Love iii. xxii. 275 He talked to the cooks in the big mess tent to make sure a vegetarian menu was available for those who wanted it.
2010 J. Green Murder High Himalayas (2011) xii. 144 At around 11:30 am, a young sherpa came to the mess tent, announcing that a man was hiding in the toilet tent.
mess tin n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > setting table > table utensils > [noun] > table-vessels > mess-tin
kid1769
mess tin1824
1824 Atheneum: Spirit of Eng. Mags. 1 June 202/1 Each man came forward with his mess-tin for his allowance, which was measured out by the cook.
1990 Combat & Survival Mag. July 44/3 Without a mess tin you may think you've had it, but it is possible to boil water in an animal skin.
2010 A. Holborn 56th Infantry Brigade & D-Day iii. 57 The new mess tins were a bit greasy so the men were moved to a series of containers for cleaning them.
mess traps n. (cf. traps n.).
ΚΠ
1858 Instr. Exercise & Service Great Guns 92 On beating to quarters, all mess gear and mess traps, including those of officers,..should be passed below.
1861 All Year Round 2 Mar. 486/2 Seamen would like their mess traps to belong to the ship, and only be charged to the mess when lost or thrown overboard.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Mess-traps, the kids, crockery, bowls, spoons, and other articles of mess service.
1943 ‘C. S. Forester’ Ship 12 ‘I want those mess traps brought back,’ said the Paymaster Commander sharply, ‘don't leave them sculling about on the decks.’
1953 C. Causley Survivor's Leave 26 I haven't seen paw since a Sunday In eighteen seventy-three When he packed his snap in a bitty mess-trap And said he'd be home by tea.
mess tub n. now historical
ΚΠ
1807 J. F. Stanfield Guinea Voy. v. 70 He was placed upon one of the mess-tubs, as not being able to stand, and that he might not dirty the deck.
1873 Act 36 & 37 Victoria c. 88 Sched. 1 A greater quantity of mess tubs or kids than are requisite for the use of the crew.
1900 W. W. Hewett Order Bk. Executive Officers Royal Navy (ed. 2) 166 It is a good thing to dry mess tubs and mess cleaning gear when the weather gives a fair chance.
2003 J. Stockwin Mutiny (2005) vi. 163 Groups gathered near the fore-mast playing dice, perched on mess-tubs; others tried to read or write letters.
mess writer n. now rare
ΚΠ
1841 Asiatic Jrnl. & Monthly Reg. 36 i. 212 Dobson will order his ‘boy’ immediately to run to the mess-writer for a bottle of brandy.
1893 W. Forbes-Mitchell Reminisc. Great Mutiny 175 For many years [he] had filled the post of mess-writer, keeping all the accounts of the mess.
1902 Baptist Missionary Mag. Jan. 17/2 He fell in with that choice Telugu spirit, Dass Athravady, mess writer of the 41st Madras Native Infantry.
C2.
mess beef n. now chiefly historical assorted cuts of salt beef stored in barrels.
ΚΠ
1766 W. Gordon Gen. Counting-house 319 45 barrels full bound mess-beef.
1892 R. L. Stevenson & L. Osbourne Wrecker xxiii. 365 ‘I've sold the trade,’ answered Wicks; ‘or, rather, I've sold only some of it, for I've kept back all the mess beef and half the flour and biscuit.’
1964 Amer. Econ. Rev. 54 383 In the 1830's..New Orleans enjoyed a slender price advantage over the northern port cities on mess beef.
2005 D. Dickson Old World Colony iv. 140 For ‘mess beef’, larger cattle slaughtered later in the season were mainly used, neck and shanks were withheld, and the premium meat was cut into regular weights.
mess box n. U.S. a box in which food and kitchen utensils are carried.
ΚΠ
1811 Z. M. Pike Exploratory Trav. 93 I had saved all our corn, bacon, and the meat of six deer, and left them at Sandy lake, with some tents, my mess-boxes, salt, tobacco, &c.
1885 Overland Monthly Apr.–May 389/2 The dishes put away in the mess box on the back end of the wagon, a timid kind of foraging tour is made.
1921 in N. H. Thorp Songs of Cowboys (ed. 2) 24 The way we gathered round that mess-box, scramblin' for tools, Showed the disregard for ethics that is taught in other schools.
2010 C. Fisher Food in Amer. Mil. vii. 134 Devising mess-boxes for messmen to use in carrying food related items to the tables and back to the storage room.
mess boy n. Nautical a man or boy who waits at table in a mess-room.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > sailor > sailors involved in specific duties or activities > [noun] > servants attendants
cabin boy1726
mess boy1813
steward1836
stewardess1837
peggy1902
mess1927
winger1929
1813 A. C. Twent Zeemans Woordenboek 7/2 Baks-jongen,..Mess Boy.
1955 ‘C. S. Forester’ Good Shepherd 116 A big pot of coffee. And a sandwich. Tell the mess-boy I want one of my specials.
2010 P. L. Allen Jesus Boy 164 At fourteen, I was a mess boy on an oil tanker running the sea-lanes to England and France and Italy.
mess jacket n. Nautical a short tailless jacket reaching just below the waistline, worn esp. when at mess.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > jacket > without tails
dinner jacket1852
dinner coat1856
mess jacket1863
tuxedo1889
smoking1922
tux1922
DJ1967
1863 St. James's Mag. 8 74 I had fought the last campaign in a mess jacket, a pair of very ragged overalls, and a straw hat.
1891 E. Kinglake Austral. at Home 91 The mess-jackets of one or two officers..may be seen, and some naval uniforms.
1988 W. Hamilton Lap of Luxury i. v. 35 The butler wore a piped mess jacket.
2011 G. O'Brien How to be Man ii. 111 Mess jackets are still worn on full-dress occasions by the military.
mess kid n. Nautical a kid (kid n.4 1) or tub used for the storage of food on a ship.
ΚΠ
1825 Sierra Leone Gaz. 16 Sept. in 19th Rep. Afr. Instit. 122 Fitted for the Slave Trade, with open hatches, boilers, irons, moveable deck, mess-kids, &c. &c.
1933 H. Allen Anthony Adverse II. iv. xxiv. 333 He [sc. Captain Jorham] set down the mess-kid in which only the wriggling weevils remained, triumphantly.
2009 D. Gabaldon Echo in Bone xxx. 301 I sent him to rummage the crew's quarters for utensils—each man would have his own mess kid and spoon.
messman n. †(a) a table companion (obsolete); (b) Military a cook; a waiter, a mess-boy.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eating in specific conditions > [noun] > eating in company > eating companion
mettec1330
meat-fellowa1382
board-fellow1382
meat ferec1384
messmana1450
commensala1464
companion?1505
messmate1664
trencher-companion1816
a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Hist. Holy Grail xiii. 359 Whanne Tholome his mes-men he sawh so fle.
1818 L. Hunt in Examiner 3 May 283/1 The Marquis of Hastings..has set out, it seems, with cannon, camp-followers, officers and 810 servants, grooms and grass-providers 1400, messmen ditto 120, Bazaar-men 900, [etc.].
1850 Punch 20 July 33/1 Messman wanted for a Cavalry Regiment.
1996 P. J. Conn Pearl S. Buck vii. 265 The Navy lets us serve only as messmen.
mess pork n. barrelled salt pork consisting of cuts of shoulders and sides.
ΚΠ
1756 Day-bk. in J. Mair Bk.-keeping Methodiz'd (1757) 304 To J. Scot's sale per Cæsar, for 6 barrels mess pork, at 65s, 19 10 0.
1818 New-Eng. Palladium & Commerc. Advertiser (Boston) 28 Sept. 3/2 Isaac McClellan & Co...Have for Sale..12 Bbls. Mess Beef—10 do. Pork.
1961 C. Price & C. C. Kennedy Notes Hist. Renfrew County 47 One Sunday special was ‘des grillades’, mess pork cut into slices and fried.
2006 R. Horowitz Putting Meat on Amer. Table iii. 54 ‘Mess pork’ came next [after clear pork] in quality (and price) and included two rumps as well as the sides.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2001; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

† Mess.n.2

Origin: Formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymon: messieurs n.
Etymology: Shortened < messieurs n. (as a graphic abbreviation).
Obsolete.
= messieurs n. 1a, 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > title > title or form of address for persons of rank > [noun] > for gentleman > for foreign gentleman or gentlemen
messire1477
monsieur1512
messieurs1539
Monsieurship1579
Mess.1750
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > courteous forms of address or title > [noun] > title > for a man > for men
messieurs1705
Messrs.1740
Mess.1750
1750 M. Jones Misc. in Prose & Verse (List of Subscribers) p. liv Mess. Samuel and Nathaniel Buck.
1765 J. Wesley Short Hist. Methodism 6 Soon after he had a meeting with Mess. Ingham, Stonhouse, Hall, Hutchings, Kinchin, and a few other Clergymen.
1770 J. Z. Holwell Orig. Princ. Anc. Bramins (1779) viii. §102. 119 However Mess. Yvon and Bouillet refute the Cartesian hypothesis, by [etc.].
1772 W. Hamilton Observ. Vesuvius 80 The Canon Recupero..attended Mess. Glover, Fullerton, and Brydone, up Mount Etna in June 1770.
1849 Theatr. Programme 11 June 23 The Celebrated Drum Polka, with Solos by Mess. Kœnig, Collinet, etc.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, September 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2019).

messv.

Brit. /mɛs/, U.S. /mɛs/
Forms: late Middle English–1600s messe, 1700s– mess, 1800s messy (English regional (south-western)); Scottish 1700s– mess, 1800s meace, 1900s– meese (chiefly north-eastern), 1900s– meesh (chiefly north-eastern), 1900s– meess (chiefly north-eastern).
Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: mess n.1
Etymology: < mess n.1For the form messy see -y suffix2. For forms indicating a lengthened vowel (meace , meese , meesh , meess ) see etymological note s.v. mess n.1; the form meesh shows the common Scots variation between /s/ and /ʃ/ in the proximity of a front vowel. Modern phrasal uses of mess are sometimes employed euphemistically (in print or in speech) in place of a coarse alternative.
1.
a. transitive. To serve up (food); to divide or measure out (ingredients or portions). Also with †forth, up. Now Scottish and English regional (northern).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > serving food > [verb (transitive)]
servec1275
spenda1375
serve1381
to serve forth1381
ministerc1400
messa1425
sewc1440
to serve ina1450
to serve upc1475
asservec1500
dish1587
appose1593
to usher in1613
send1662
to hand round1692
to serve away1709
hand1851
a1425 (a1399) Forme of Cury (BL Add.) 179 in C. B. Hieatt & S. Butler Curye on Inglysch (1985) 138 Bake it vp with eurose, & messe it forthe.
a1450 in T. Austin Two 15th-cent. Cookery-bks. (1888) 30 (MED) Florche it a-bouyn with Pome-garned & messe it; serue it forth.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 635/1 I messe meate, I sorte it or order it in to messes, as cookes do whan they serve it.
1832 W. Scott Poet. Wks. 26 She fills the bassie, gi'es the ribs a clap, Brings ben the meal an' messes't i' the cap.
1866 J. T. Staton Rays fro th' Loominary 8 So Jane messed him some up in a basin.
1886 R. Holland Gloss. Words County of Chester (at cited word) Come an' tay th' cheilt, wheile aw mess th' dinner for th' men.
1955 W. P. Milne Eppie Elrick ii. 15 She..proceeded to ‘meess’ the meal into the boiling water through between the fingers of her left hand.
†b. intransitive. To prepare food for an animal. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feeding animals > [verb (intransitive)] > prepare food
mess1825
1825 J. Jennings Observ. Dial. W. Eng. 179 I can messy or milky nif ther be need o't.
1840 [implied in: Cottager's Man. iii. 36 in Brit. Husbandry (Libr. Useful Knowl.) III There will be no necessity for messing every time the pig wants a meal. (at messing n.3 2b)].
†2. transitive. To divide (a ship's company) into messes. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > seafaring life > [verb (transitive)] > divide (ship's company) into messes
mess1609
1609 Instruccions May in S. M. Kingsbury Rec. Virginia Company (1933) III. 21 Lett them eate together..beinge messed by sixe or fiue to a messe.
1627 J. Smith Sea Gram. ix. 39 To messe them foure to a messe.
1690 R. Strutton True Relation Cruelties French 10 We Mest our selves seven and seven together.
3. Chiefly Military.
a. intransitive. To take one's meals, esp. as a member of a mess. Also: to dine upon a specified kind of food (rare).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eating in specific conditions > eat in specific conditions [verb (intransitive)] > eat in company
dieta1587
common1598
to keep (also enter, come into, etc.) commons1598
mess1701
partake1844
1701 G. Farquhar Sir Harry Wildair iii. ii. 28 I shall find better Mutton-Commons by messing with You, Brother.
1743 J. Bulkeley & J. Cummins Voy. to South-seas 196 We never us'd to mess together.
1786 S. Henley tr. W. Beckford Arabian Tale 144 For I am convinced it was his horrible look that sent us hither, to listen to sermons, and mess upon rice.
1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple I. v. 52 Now that we are in harbour, I mess here.
1876 C. H. Davis Narr. North Polar Exped. Ship Polaris vii. 176 The officers who had messed with him,..knew that the life of the expedition was gone.
1918 Marines Mag. Nov. 45 We shared a tent together, we drilled in the same squad, we messed at the same table.
1957 H. Williamson Golden Virgin i. vi. 100 Bason suggested that he and Phillip should mess together in one house.
1982 F. Donaldson P. G. Wodehouse Pref. p. xii Her future husband, Peter Cazalet, bore in his youth the same sort of relationship to my husband, Jack Donaldson, since they messed together at Eton.
b. transitive. To supply with meals; spec. to provide with food in a mess.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feed or nourish [verb (transitive)] > supply with meals
table1457
common1598
board1600
diet1635
mess1811
1811 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1837) VIII. 292 The soldiers..were not at all times messed in the manner pointed out by your order.
1882 E. A. Floyer Unexplored Baluchistan 79 The Khan..was most hospitable, even to the extent of messing me at his own ‘table’.
1916 Me Marines Mag. Feb.–Mar. 4/1 Arrangements have been made to mess the shooters at the barracks there.
4.
a. intransitive. To mix or associate with. Also (Scottish): to mess or (also and) mell.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > association, fellowship, or companionship > associate together or with [verb (intransitive)]
mingc1275
company1387
joinc1390
meddlec1390
herd?a1400
fellowshipc1430
enfellowship1470
to step in1474
accompany?1490
yoke?a1513
to keep with ——c1515
conjoin1532
wag1550
frequent1577
encroach1579
consort1588
sort1595
commerce1596
troop1597
converse1598
to keep (also enter, come into, etc.) commons1598
to enter common1604
atone1611
to walk (also travel) in the way with1611
minglea1616
consociate1638
associate1644
corrive1647
co-unite1650
walk1650
cohere1651
engage1657
mix1667
accustom1670
to make one1711
coalite1735
commerciate1740
to have nothing to say to (also with)1780
gang?1791
companion1792
mess1795
matea1832
comrade1865
to go around1904
to throw in with1906
to get down1975
1795 R. Cumberland Wheel of Fortune ii. 23 I had sooner mess with the savages in Africa than be shut into a room with a company of wits.
1821 J. Galt Ann. Parish xxiv. 221 She..would not let me..mess or mell we the lathron lasses of the clachan.
1822 J. Galt Steam-boat iv. 88 This is an observe that I have made..since I began..to mess and mell more with the generality of mankind.
1849 H. D. Thoreau Week Concord & Merrimack Rivers 150 They appeared to be green hands..who had taken this means to get to the seaboard, and see the world..and were ready to mess with mankind.
1880 in N. E. Eliason Tarheel Talk (1956) 91 A politician says ‘That fellow is “messing” (associating) with the Radicals.’
1887 J. Service Life Dr. Duguid (ed. 3) 281 He would neither mess nor mell wi' ony o' the new reformers.
1913 Dial. Notes 4 5 Mess with, to associate with. ‘We don't mess with those people.’
1938 M. K. Rawlings Yearling xxiii. 290 If she's nothin' but one o' them leetle ol' chipperdales, why do he mess up with her?
1955 S. Whitmore Solo 27 And what little lady is going to mess with you?
1999 Herald (Glasgow) (Electronic ed.) 15 Apr. 38 My expensively educated blood runs cold at the thought of having to mess and mell every night with the kind of customers I imagine the bar's name is designed to attract.
b. intransitive. colloquial (chiefly North American). To get involved or interfere with or (occasionally) in something or someone; to meddle, cause confusion, make trouble.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > occupy or engage (a person) [verb (transitive)] > have to do with or be involved in or with > get involved in
impc1000
to have a finger in1583
plunge1697
mess1851
1851 W. C. Roscoe Violenzia iv. iv. 99 Let us not mess with words. The time is awful; I neither can forego your punishment Nor quench the love I bear you.
1874 Hotten's Slang Dict. (rev. ed.) 225 Mess, to interfere unduly. Costermongers refer to police supervision as ‘messing’.
1898 B. Kirkby Lakeland Words 101 What's thoo messan wi' thi fadder razors for?
1956 ‘B. Holiday’ & W. Dufty Lady sings Blues iv. 57 This talk about a big tone messed with Lester for months.
1971 Black World Apr. 66 You hit her with a chair leg. You didn't have no right to mess with that poor girl.
1976 D. R. Koontz Night Chills i. vii. 133 He..had freed himself from the dozens of bitches who had messed in his life all the way back to and including his mother.
1982 W. L. Heat Moon Blue Highways iv. i. 134 Don't mess, Charley, or you'll be sorry.
1999 Spark (Reading Univ. Students' Union) 8 Mar. i. 21/1 Does TV mess with your mind?
c. transitive. colloquial. To handle roughly; also figurative. Also: to inconvenience or annoy, esp. by acting indecisively. With about, around.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > ill-treatment > ill-treat [verb (transitive)]
tuckc888
tawc893
misbedeOE
graithc1330
to fare fair or foul with1340
misusea1382
outrayc1390
beshrewc1430
huspelc1440
misentreat1450
mistreat1453
abuse?1473
to mayne evil1481
demean1483
to put (a person) to villainya1513
harry1530
mishandle1530
touse1531
misorder1550
worrya1556
yark1565
mumble1588
buse1589
crow-tread1593
disabuse1607
maltreat1681
squeeze1691
ill-treat1794
punish1801
tousle1826
ill-use1841
razoo1890
mess1896
to play horse with1896
to bugger about1921
slug1925
to give (a person) the works1927
to kick about or around1938
mess1963
1896 J. S. Farmer & W. E. Henley Slang IV. 305/1 Mess about, to play fast and loose; to swindle; to put off.
1901 Essex Weekly News 8 Mar. 3/3 Defendant was 77 years old, and had never been messed about by policemen before.
1917 ‘Sapper’ No Man's Land 298 The men despise vacillation and chopping and changing. Being ‘messed about’, they call it, only the word is not messed.
1934 A. P. Herbert Holy Deadlock 276 Why should our private lives be spied upon—and messed about in a Court like this?
1946 J. E. Dadswell Hey there, Sucker! xx. 198 Looky here, boss, we ain't going to mess you around none or tear down the joint, but just give us back our passes.
1957 M. Spark Comforters v. 110 Her great desire to travel by train was dispersed by the obvious necessities of going to Mass, and of not messing Laurence around any further.
1987 Making Music Feb. 14/1 This..allows you to mess the song around as much as you like without offending anyone's artistic sensibilities.
1999 Financial Times 9 Oct. (Weekend Suppl.) p. v/6 It is an understatement to say that these short and stout warriors have been messed around..by the nation to which they pledge their loyalty.
d. transitive. colloquial (originally and chiefly U.S.). With up. To assault, beat up; to cause injury to (a person).
ΚΠ
1915 J. London Star Rover iii. 21 Winwood crossed us and squealed. They're going to get us out one by one and mess us up.
1930 N. Asch Pay Day 83 If I did meet you, I'd mess you up, and you'd be sorry.
1946 Amer. Mercury Apr. 484 To use a knife on another boy is to ‘mess him up’.
1967 B. Brunner Face of Night 26 Open your mouth again, Brozek, and I'll mess you up.
1986 R. L. Chapman New Dict. Amer Slang (1987) 277/1 The wreck messed him up so much that he can't walk.
1991 Soldier of Fortune Dec. 73/1 The dozen or so sheriff's deputies..,just hoping to mess these clowns up.
5.
a. transitive. To make a mess of; to disorder, make dirty or untidy; to cause to be spoiled by inept handling; to muddle, mishandle. Now usually with up. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > [verb (transitive)]
perturbc1385
disarraya1387
disordain1398
disjointc1420
disorder1477
mistemperc1485
commovec1500
deraign?a1513
distempera1513
misordera1513
bring1523
turmoil1542
unframe1574
disrank1602
discompose1611
luxate1623
disframec1629
disjoin1630
disconcert1632
untune1638
un-nacka1657
dislocatea1661
unhinge1664
deconcert1715
disarrange1744
derange1777
unadjust1785
mess1823
discombobulate1825
tevel1825
malagruze1864
to muck up1875
untrim1884
unbalance1892
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > cause or effect (harm) [verb (transitive)] > do harm or injury to > affect detrimentally
atterc885
hurtc1200
marc1225
appair1297
impair1297
spilla1300
emblemishc1384
endull1395
blemishc1430
depaira1460
depravea1533
deform1533
envenom1533
vitiate1534
quail1551
impeach1563
subvert1565
craze1573
taint1573
spoil1578
endamage1579
qualify1584
stain1584
crack1590
ravish1594
interess1598
invitiate1598
corrupt1602
venom1621
depauperate1623
detriment1623
flaw1623
embase1625
ungold1637
murder1644
refract1646
depress1647
addle1652
sweal1655
butcher1659
shade1813
mess1823
puckeroo1840
untone1861
blue1880
queer1884
dick1972
forgar-
the world > action or operation > ability > inability > unskilfulness > do something unskilfully [verb (intransitive)] > bungle
bungle1549
to put the wrong foot before1590
bebotch1609
to put one's foot in (also into) it1796
mess1823
boggle1853
to make a muff of oneself1884
duff1890
bobble1908
miscue1941
blow1943
to make a porridge (of)1969
sheg1981
the world > action or operation > ability > inability > unskilfulness > be unskilled in [verb (transitive)] > bungle
botch1530
bungle1530
mumble1588
muddle1605
mash1642
bumble?1719
to fall through ——1726
fuck1776
blunder1805
to make a mull of1821
bitch1823
mess1823
to make a mess of1834
smudge1864
to muck up1875
boss1887
to make balls of1889
duff1890
foozle1892
bollocks1901
fluff1902
to make a muck of1903
bobble1908
to ball up1911
jazz1914
boob1915
to make a hash of1920
muff1922
flub1924
to make a hat of1925
to ass up1932
louse1934
screw1938
blow1943
to foul up1943
eff1945
balls1947
to make a hames of1947
to arse up1951
to fuck up1967
dork1969
sheg1981
bodge1984
1823 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 14 183 He had messed the mouth of a loose-fish by his awkward and impotent skillessness.
1854 W. Collins Hide & Seek III. iv. 108 That's the first pair of trousers I ever ventured to cut out for you..; and the long and short of it is, I've messed 'em.
1862 H. Marryat One Year in Sweden I. 165 The authorities,..convinced of the folly of messing matters, have caused a plan to be drawn out on a grand..scale.
1897 H. G. Wells Invisible Man xiii. 98 I wouldn't like to mess up your plans, you know.
1901 Scribner's Mag. 29 404/1 Lank told him that he had messed the whole business.
1919 G. B. Shaw Heartbreak House ii, in Heartbreak House, Great Catherine, & Playlets of War 85 I get my whole life messed up with people falling in love with me.
1977 B. Bainbridge Injury Time (1978) xvi. 133 When Harry had tugged the sheet from the bed he'd messed up the blankets.
1983 A. Geras Voyage viii. 110 The wind tears at your hair and messes your clothes.
b. intransitive. colloquial (chiefly North American). With up. To mishandle or bungle an enterprise; to make a mistake; to get into trouble.
ΚΠ
1933 Amer. Speech 8 29/2 Boy, I ain't a-goin' t' mess up no more from now on.
1956 ‘B. Holiday’ & W. Dufty Lady sings Blues iii. 42 When the time came to take those bills off the table, I was always messing up.
1974 H. L. Foster Ribbin', Jivin', & Playin' Dozens vii. 335 Another student took the ‘joint’ out of the other youngster's mouth and threw it into the fire, berating him with, ‘Hey man, don't mess up! We want to go on these trips.’
1992 Life May 8 (caption) ‘There's no way to fall, unless you really mess up,’ says Dallas window washer Chuck Murray.
c. intransitive. colloquial. Of a child, dog, etc.: to defecate, esp. in an inappropriate place. Also transitive (frequently reflexive): to soil by defecation. Cf. mess n.1 3e.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > defecation or urination > defecation > [verb (intransitive)]
dritea1000
to do one's filthheadc1300
shit?c1335
to go to siegec1400
scumbera1425
cack1436
to do one's easementa1438
to ease nature, ease oneselfc1440
skite1449
to do of one's needingsc1475
fen1486
dung1508
spurge1530
to cover his feet1535
lask1540
stool1540
to exonerate nature1542
file1564
fiant1575
cucka1605
wray1620
exonerate1631
excrement1632
to do one's ease1645
sir-reverence1665
excrementizec1670
nest1679
poop1689
move1699
defecate1837
crap1874
mire1918
to make a mess1928
mess1937
to go poo-poo (also poo-poos)1960
potty1972
to do a whoopsie (or whoopsies)1973
pooh1975
1937 E. B. White Let. 8 Oct. (1976) 164 In all the time he [sc. a dog] has been living in the house, he has messed only once.
1951 J. Jones From Here to Eternity xxxviii. 575 Feeling vaguely ashamed like he used to feel when the littler kids at home messed their pants.
1960 A. S. Neill Summerhill ii. 173 If I am like him and mess my trousers the way he dirties his diapers, Mommy will love me again.
1972 A. Bennett Getting On i. 12 That flaming dog has messed on our steps again.
1992 Dogs Today Feb. 32 Sadie messed herself when I touched her. She went berserk when I put a lead on her.
6.
a. intransitive. To pass time in a pleasantly desultory way, with no definite aim or serious intent; to behave in a playful or frivolous way; to waste time. Usually with about, around.In quot. 1853, about functions as a preposition.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > inaction > idleness, lack of occupation or activity > be idle or unoccupied [verb (intransitive)] > potter or waste time in trifling activity
trifle?a1400
loiterc1400
tiffc1440
tifflec1440
to pick a salad1520
to play the wanton1529
fiddle1530
dauntc1540
piddle1545
dally?1548
pittlea1568
pingle1574
puddle1591
to thrum caps1594
maginate1623
meecha1625
pudder1624
dabble1631
fanfreluche1653
dawdlea1656
taigle17..
niff-naff1728
tiddle1747
peddle1755
gammer1788
quiddle1789
muddle1791
browse1803
niddle1808
poke1811
fal-lal1818
potter1824
footer1825
putter1827
shaffle1828
to fool about1838
mike1838
piffle1847
mess1853
to muck about1856
tinker1856
bohemianize1857
to fool around1860
frivol1866
june1869
muss1876
to muddle about (also around)1877
slummock1877
dicker1888
moodle1893
to fart about1899
to fart about (or around)1899
plouter1899
futz1907
monkey1916
to arse around1919
to play around1929
to fuck around1931
tool1932
frig1933
boondoggle1935
to muck around1935
to screw around1935
to bugger about1937
to bugger around1939
to piss about1943
to dick around1948
to jerk around1953
fart-arse1954
to fanny around1969
slop1973
dork1982
to twat around (or about)1992
to dick about1996
the world > action or operation > inaction > idleness, lack of occupation or activity > cause to be idle or inactive [verb (transitive)] > occupy oneself triflingly with
tinker1655
saunter1672
mess1853
1853 Mrs. E. Lynn Linton in Life vii. 83 I mess about my flowers and read snatches of French.
1886 E. Whitaker Tip Cat (new ed.) xix. 263 Messing about with sulphur and lime and all the rest of it.
1886 G. Allen For Maimie's Sake xxi Sydney was..messing away..at his nasty chemicals.
1908 K. Grahame Wind in Willows i. 7 There is nothing—absolutely nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.
1918 D. Parker in Vanity Fair (N.Y.) Oct. 46/1 They are forever messing around with batik.
1932 A. Christie Peril at End House ii. 34 I wondered if Ellen's boy..had tinkered with it. Boys do like messing about with cars.
1944 E. Blyton Five run away Together vi. 54 The children messed about that day, doing nothing at all.
1964 Evening Post (Wellington, N.Z.) 4 Jan. A few audible reminders to himself to ‘stop messing around’ failed to help matters.
1974 ‘A. Haig’ Peruvian Printout 33 Whoever is messing about with our computers, I want him found p.d.q.
1996 R. Doyle Woman who walked into Doors xviii. 97 Daddy said it was rubbish and he lost his temper when we started screaming. But I'm sure he was messing. He never stopped us from watching it.
b. intransitive. colloquial. To engage in a sexual relationship (with a person); to have an affair or affairs. With about, around.
ΚΠ
1896 J. S. Farmer & W. E. Henley Slang IV. 305/1 Mess about, to take liberties; to firkytoodle.
1931 S. N. Behrman Brief Moment ii. ii. 142 What the hell are you doing messing around with Worthing? You know what a God-damn run-around he gave you in the old days.
1937 J. Steinbeck Of Mice & Men 122 Don't you do no messing aroun' with him.
1986 ‘W. Trevor’ News from Ireland 277 It doesn't do, you know, to go messing about with the maids.
1992 N.Y. Times Mag. 28 June 34/1 I've always said, ‘Anyone messes around with women in this place, I'll kill 'em.’
c. intransitive. Of a jazz musician or dancer: to improvise. Also: to dance the mess around (see Mess Around n.). With around.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > perform (music) [verb (transitive)] > improvise
improvisoa1768
vamp1789
improvise1858
mess1926
busk1934
rhyme1939
jam1955
1926 L. Armstrong (title of song) Don't forget to mess around.
c1938 N. E. Williams His Hi de Highness of Ho de Ho 4/2 They permitted him to play the drums occasionally, to sing vocal choruses and to ‘mess around’ in front of the stand, improvising syncopated dance steps.
1973 T. Morrison Sula i. 4 He might see a dark woman..doing..a bit of ‘messing around’ to the lively notes of a mouth organ.
7. intransitive. colloquial. To tease someone, esp. in a playful or good-natured way. With with.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > cause laughter [verb (transitive)] > utter a jest or joke > make jest of or joke about
to make a sport of1535
humorize1749
mess1946
to fuck with ——1968
to screw with ——1986
1946 H. H. Kroll Their Anc. Grudge v. v. 174 I don't think I could stand it if you was just messing with me to make fun of me.
1994 Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch 9 Dec. c2/5 Bew celebrated by asking her to marry him. ‘I thought he was messing with me,’ Dulgher said.
2018 Pensacola (Florida) News Jrnl. (Electronic ed.) 14 Apr. c2 I'm just messing with you. I have to get my jollies somewhere.
8. transitive. colloquial. Originally in African-American usage: to wrong, to treat unfairly. With over.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > ill-treatment > ill-treat [verb (transitive)]
tuckc888
tawc893
misbedeOE
graithc1330
to fare fair or foul with1340
misusea1382
outrayc1390
beshrewc1430
huspelc1440
misentreat1450
mistreat1453
abuse?1473
to mayne evil1481
demean1483
to put (a person) to villainya1513
harry1530
mishandle1530
touse1531
misorder1550
worrya1556
yark1565
mumble1588
buse1589
crow-tread1593
disabuse1607
maltreat1681
squeeze1691
ill-treat1794
punish1801
tousle1826
ill-use1841
razoo1890
mess1896
to play horse with1896
to bugger about1921
slug1925
to give (a person) the works1927
to kick about or around1938
mess1963
1963 J. A. Williams Sissie vi. 84 Iris, you're going to mess over me; you're going to shake me up.
1965 C. Brown Manchild in Promised Land xi. 296 Cats used to say it made them feel better than being down there, being messed over by Goldberg all the time.
1974 T. Morrison Sula ii. 101 Let's work out a plan for taking care of her. So she won't be messed over.
1989 A. Walker Temple of my Familiar v. 300 Rule number one: Don't ever mess over nobody.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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