- matted adj. 1. Covered with or made from mats: a matted floor. 2. Tangled in a

  dense mass: tried to push through the matted undergrowth.

- matter 3. Discharge or waste, such as pus or feces, from a living organism.

- matting1 n. 1a. Material formed into or considered as a mat: The forest floor

  had a thick matting of pine needles. b. A coarsely woven fabric used for

  covering floors and similar purposes. 2. The activity of making mats.

- matzo also matzoh n. A brittle, flat piece of unleavened bread, eaten

  especially during Passover.

- maudlin adj. Effusively or tearfully sentimental: "displayed an almost maudlin

  concern for the welfare of animals" (A. Huxley).

- mau-mau tr.v. Informal To attack or denounce vociferously, especially so as to

  intimidate: "On years past, [the civil rights leadership]...would mau-mau the

  government or the corporate sector or the white community" (J. Perkins).

  [After the Mau Mau, a secret society of Kikuyu terrorists that led a rebellion

  against the ruling europeans in Kenya in the 1950s, from Kikuyu mau-mau, sound

  of the voracious bobbling of the hyena.]

- Maundy Thursday n. The Thursday before Easter, observed in commemoration of

  the Last Supper of Jesus. Also called Holy Thursday.

- mausoleum n. 1. A large stately tomb or a building housing such a tomb or

  several tombs. 2. A gloomy, usually large room or building.

- mavourneen also mavournin n. Irish. My darling.

  [This reminds me of macushla in the movie Million Dollar Baby.]

- maw n. 1. The mouth, stomach, jaws, or gullet of a voracious animal,

  especially a carnivore. 2. The opening into something felt to be insatiable:

  "I saw the opening maw of hell" (H. Melville).

- maximalist n. One who advocates direct or radical action to secure a social or

  political goal in its entirety: "the maximalists ... who want the undivided

  land" (A. Hertzberg). [Russian maksimalist, name applied in 1906 to an extreme

  splinter group of the Russian Socialist Revolutionary Party.]

- maya n. Hinduism 1. The power of a god or demon to transform a concept into an

  element of the sensible world. 2. The transitory, manifold appearance of the

  sensible world, which obscures the undifferentiated spiritual reality from

  which it originates; the illusory appearance of the sensible world.

- mayday n. An international radiotelephone signal word used by aircraft and

  ships in distress.

- Mazdaism n. Zoroastrianism.

- mazel tov also mazal tov interj. Used to express congratulations or best

  wishes.

- McCarthyism n. 1. The practice of publicizing accusations of political

  disloyalty or subversion with insufficient regard to evidence. 2. The use of

  unfair investigatory or accusatory methods in order to suppress opposition.

- meal ticket n. 1. A card or ticket entitling the holder to a meal or meals. 2.

  Informal A person or thing depended on as a source of financial support.

- mealy adj 1. Resembling meal in texture or consistency; granular: mealy

  potatoes. 3. Flecked with spots; mottled. 4. Lacking healthy coloring; pale:

  "I only know two sorts of boys. Mealy boys, and beef-faced boys" (Charles

  Dickens). 5. Mealy-mouthed.

- mealy-mouthed adj. Unwilling to state facts or opinions simply and directly.

- meanie n. Informal A malicious or petty person. [See also mean-spirited].

- means test n. An investigation into the financial well-being of a person to

  determine the person's eligibility for financial assistance. [See also

  means-test v.]

- meat and potatoes pl.n. Informal The fundamental parts or part; the basis.

  [See also meat-and-potatoes adj.]

- meatball n. 2. Slang A stupid, clumsy, or dull person.

- meat-head n. Slang A stupid or dull person.

- meat loaf n. A mounded or molded dish, usually baked, of ground beef or a

  combination of various meats and other ingredients.

- meat hook 2. meat hooks Slang The hands or fists.

- meat market n. 2. Slang An establishment, such as a nightclub, where one looks

  for a sexual partner. 3. Slang A location or circumstance, such as an

  audition, where people are viewed as commodities.

- meaty adj. 3. Prompting considerable thought: a meaty theme for study and

  debate.

- med adj. Informal Medical: med schools; med students. n. Slang A medication or

  dose of medication. Often used in the plural.

- Medal for Merit n. A decoration awarded by the U.S. to civilians for

  outstanding service in peace or war.

- Medal of Freedom n. A decoration awarded by the U.S. to civilians for

  outstanding achievement in various fields of endeavor.