Неизвестен Автор - Словарь американских идиом (8000 единиц)

[masse] See: EN MASSE.

[mast] See: NAIL ONE'S COLORS TO THE MAST.

[master copy] 1. A perfect text to which all copies are made to conform; a corrected version used as a standard by printers. * /The master copy must be right, because if it isn't, the mistakes in it will be repeated all through the edition./ 2. A stencil from which other copies are made. * /Mr. Brown told his secretary to save the master copy so that they could run off more copies whenever they needed them./ * /The master copy was too light so many of the copies didn't come out clear./

[master key] A key that opens a set of different locks. * /The building janitor has a master key to all of the apartments in this building./

[mastermind] To create; direct; invent the central plan for several individuals to follow. * /Lenin masterminded the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia./

[mastermind] A person who supplies the intelligence for a project and/or undertakes its management. * /Winston Churchill was the mastermind in the war against Hitler./

[master of ceremonies] or [M.C.] or [emcee] The person in charge of introducing the various participants in a show or entertainment. * /Bob Hope was the M.C. of many memorable shows./

[mat] See: WELCOME MAT IS OUT.

[matter] See: FOR THAT MATTER, LAUGHING MATTER, NO MATTER, THE MATTER.

[matter of course] Something always done; the usual way; habit; rule. * /A was a matter of course for John to dress carefully when he was meeting his wife./ * /Bank officers ask questions as a matter of course when someone wants to borrow money./

[matter of fact] Something that is really true; something that can be proved. * /The town records showed that it was a matter of fact that the two boys were brothers./ * /It is a matter of fact that the American war against England was successful./ - Often used for emphasis in the phrase "as a matter of fact". * /I didn't go yesterday, and as a matter of fact, f didn't go all week./ * /Mary wasn't wearing a blue dress. As a matter of fact, she hasn't got a blue dress./ Compare: FOR THAT MATTER, IN FACT. Contrast: MATTER OF OPINION.

[matter-of-fact] 1. Simply telling or showing the truth; not explaining or telling more. * /The newspaper gave a matter-of-fact account of the murder trial./ 2. Showing little feeling or excitement or trouble; seeming not to care much. * /When Mary's father died she acted in a very matter-of-fact way./ * /He was a very matter-of-fact person./

[matter of opinion] Something that may or may not be true; something that people do not all agree on. * /Whether or not he was a good general is a matter of opinion./ Compare: MATTER OF FACT.

[matter of record] A fact or event that is kept officially as a legal record. * /If you are convicted of speeding it becomes a matter of record./ * /A birth certificate or a marriage license is a matter of record./

[may] See: BE THAT AS IT MAY, COME WHAT MAY, LET THE CHIPS FALL WHERE THEY MAY.

[M.C.] or [emcee] To act as master of ceremonies at a show. * /The famous actor emceed the entire television show./

[me] See: DEAR ME, PICK-ME-UP, SO HELP ME.

[mean business] , To decide strongly to do what you plan to do; really mean it; be serious. * /The boss said he would fire us if we didn't work harder and he means business./ * /When she went to college to study, she meant business./ * /He just liked the company of the other girls he dated, but this time he seems to mean business./

[means] See: BY ALL MEANS, BY MEANS OF, BY NO MEANS, WAYS AND MEANS.

[means to an end] An action leading to some end or purpose. * /Money for him was just a means to an end; actually he wanted power./

[mean well] To have good intentions. * /Fred generally means well, but he has a tendency to be tactless./

[measure] See: BEYOND MEASURE, FOR GOOD MEASURE, MADE-TO-MEASURE, TAKE ONE'S MEASURE or TAKE THE MEASURE OF.

[measure off] To mark by measuring. * /She measured off three yards with which to make the new dress./

[measure up] To be equal; be of fully high quality; come up. * /John didn't measure up to the best catchers but he was a good one./ * /Lois' school work didn't measure up to her ability./ Compare up: TO PAR. Contrast: FALL SHORT.

[meatball] , A dull, boring, slow-witted, or uninteresting person. * /You'll never get an interesting story out of that meatball - stop inviting him./

[medicine] See: TAKE ONE'S MEDICINE.

[medium] See: STRIKE A HAPPY MEDIUM.

[meet] See: MAKE ENDS MEET.

[meet halfway] See: GO HALFWAY.

[meeting] See: BEST BIB AND TUCKER or SUNDAY-GO-TO-MEETING CLOTHES.

[meet one's death] To die. * /Algernon met his death in a car accident./

[meet one's eye] To be in plain view or come into plain view; appear clearly or obviously. * /When John rounded the bend, a clear blue lake met his eye./ * /On a first reading the plan looked good, but there was more to it than met the eye./

[meet one's match] To encounter someone as good as oneself. * /The champion finally met his match and lost the game./

[meet one's Waterloo] To be defeated; lose an important contest. * /After seven straight victories the team met its Waterloo./ * /John fought instead of running, and the bully met his Waterloo./ (After Napoleon's final defeat at Waterloo.)

[meet up with] To meet by accident; come upon without planning or expecting to. * /When he ran around the tree, Bob suddenly meet up with a large bear./ * /The family would have arrived on time, but they met up with a flat tire./

[meet with] 1. To meet (someone), usually by accident. * /In the woods he met with two strangers./ Syn.: COME UPON. 2. To meet together, usually by plan; join; have a meeting with. * /The two scouts met with the officers to talk about plans for the march./ 3. To experience (as unhappiness); suffer (as bad luck); have (as an accident or mishap). * /The farmer met with misfortune; his crops were destroyed by a storm./ * /The traveler met with an accident on the road./

[melt] See: BUTTER WOULDN'T MELT IN ONE'S MOUTH, MELT IN ONE'S MOUTH.

[melting pot] A country where different nationalities mingle and mix with the result that, in the second generation, most people speak the main language of the country and behave like the majority. * /It is no longer considered entirely true that the United States is a melting pot; many immigrants speak a second language./

[melt in one's mouth] 1. To be so tender as to seem to need no chewing. * /The chicken was so tender that it melted in your mouth./ 2. To taste very good; be delicious. * /Mother's apple pie really melts in your mouth./

[memory] See: IN MEMORY OF.

[mend] See: ON THE MEND.

[mend one's fences] , To do something to make people like or follow you again; strengthen your friendships or influence. * /The senator went home from Washington to mend his fences./ * /John saw that his friends did not like him, so he decided to mend his fences./

[mend one's ways] To reform; change one's behavior from negative to positive. * /He had better mend his ways or he'll wind up in jail./

[mental telepathy] The passing of one person's thoughts to another without any discoverable talking or carrying of signals between them. * /Mrs. Smith knew the moment her husband's ship sank on the other side of the world. It seems like a case of mental telepathy./ * /Most or all men who practice mental telepathy on stage have really trained themselves to detect tiny clues from the audience./

[mention] See: NOT TO MENTION.

[meow] See: CAT'S MEOW.

[mercy] See: AT THE MERCY OF.

[mercy killing] The act of killing a terminally ill patient or animal in order to avoid further suffering. * /Mercy killing of humans is illegal in most countries, yet many doctors practice it secretly./

[merrier] See: MORE THE MERRIER.

[merry] See: LEAD A MERRY CHASE, MAKE MERRY.

[message] See: GET THE MESSAGE.

[mess around] 1. To engage in idle or purposeless activity. * /Come on, you guys, - start doing some work, don't just mess around all day!/ 2. To be promiscuous; to indulge in sex with little discrimination as to who the partner is. * /Allen needs straightening out; he's been messing around with the whole female population of his class./ Compare: FOOL AROUND.

[mess up] , , 1. To cause trouble; to spoil something. * /What did you have to mess up my accounts for?/ 2. To cause someone emotional trauma. * /Sue will never get married; she got messed up when she was a teenager./ 3. To beat up someone physically. * /When Joe came in after the fight with the boys, he was all messed up./

[method in (to) one's madness] A plan or organization of ideas hard to perceive at first, but that becomes noticeable after longer and closer examination. * /We thought he was crazy to threaten to resign from the university but, when he was offered a tenured full professorship, we realized that there had been method in his madness./

[mickey mouse(1)] , Inferior; second rate; chicken; easy; gimmicky. * /Watch out for Perkins; he's full of mickey mouse ideas./

[mickey mouse(2)] () A stupid person; a policeman; a white man (as used by blacks).

[midair] See: UP IN THE AIR(2) also IN MIDAIR.

[middle] See: CHANGE HORSES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREAM, IN THE MIDDLE.

[middle ground] A place halfway between the two sides of an argument; a compromise. * /John wanted to go running. Bill said it was too hot. Tom took the middle ground and suggested a hike./ * /The committee found a middle ground between the two proposals./

[middleman] A person or small business standing in an intermediary position between two parties. * /A retail merchant is the middleman between the factory and the consumer./

[middle of the road] A way of thinking which does not favor one idea or thing too much; being halfway between two different ideas. * /The teacher did not support the boys or the girls in the debate, but stayed in the middle of the road./

[middle-of-the-road] Favoring action halfway between two opposite movements or ideas; with ideas halfway between two opposite sides; seeing good on both sides. * /The men who wrote the Constitution followed a middle-of-the-road plan on whether greater power belonged to the United States government or to the separate states./ * /Senator Jones favors a middle-of-the-road policy in the labor-management dispute./

[midfield stripe] The line across the center of a football field; the 50-yard line. * /The visitors were able to cross the midfield stripe once during the whole game./

[midnight oil] See: BURN THE MIDNIGHT OIL.

[midstream] See: CHANGE HORSES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREAM or CHANGE HORSES IN MIDSTREAM.

[might] See: WITH MIGHT AND MAIN.

[mighty] See: HIGH-AND-MIGHTY.

[mile] See: GIVE ONE AN INCH AND HE WILL TAKE A MILE, JAW DROP or JAW DROP A MILE, MISS BY A MILE, MISS IS AS GOOD AS A MILE.

[mile markers] , , Small signs along interstate highways usually bearing a number. * /The Smokey is located at 131 mile marker./

[miles away] Inattentive; not concentrating. * /When Betty said, "We have theater tickets for tonight," Ken didn't react as his mind was miles away./

[milk] See: CRY OVER SPILLED MILK.

[mill] See: RUN-OF-THE-MILL, THROUGH THE MILL.

[mill around] To move impatiently in no particular direction. * /The crowd milled around, waiting for the arrival of the president./

[million] See: FEEL LIKE A MILLION, LOOK LIKE A MILLION DOLLARS.

[millstone around one's neck] An intolerable burden. * /Max said that his old car was a millstone around his neck./ Compare: MONKEY ON ONE'S BACK.

[mince words] To choose words carefully for the sake of politeness or deception. * /I like people who speak frankly and truthfully without mincing words./

[mind] See: CROSS ONE'S MIND or PASS THROUGH ONE'S MIND, GIVE A PIECE OF ONE'S MIND, HALF A MIND, IN MIND, IN ONE'S MIND'S EYE, MAKE UP ONE'S MIND, NEVER MIND, ON ONE'S MIND, OUT OF ONE'S HEAD or OUT OF ONE'S MIND, PUT IN MIND OF, READ ONE'S MIND.