[mess up] <v. phr.>, <slang>, <informal> 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] <n. phr.> 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)] <adj.>, <slang> Inferior; second rate; chicken; easy; gimmicky. * /Watch out for Perkins; he's full of mickey mouse ideas./
[mickey mouse(2)] <n.> (<derogatory>) 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] <n.> 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] <n.> 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] <n. phr.> 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] <adj.> 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] <n.> 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] <n.>, <slang>, <citizen's band radio jargon> Small signs along interstate highways usually bearing a number. * /The Smokey is located at 131 mile marker./
[miles away] <adj. phr.> 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] <v. phr.> 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] <n. phr.> An intolerable burden. * /Max said that his old car was a millstone around his neck./ Compare: MONKEY ON ONE'S BACK.
[mince words] <v. phr.> 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.
[mind like a steel trap] <n. phr.> A very quick and understanding mind, which is quick to catch an idea. * /Henry is not fond of sports, but he has a mind like a steel trap./ * /A successful lawyer must have a mind like a steel trap./
[mind one's own business] <v. phr.> To not interfere in the affairs of others. * /He finally got tired of her criticism and told her to mind her own business./
[mind one's p's and q's] <v. phr.> To be very careful what you do or say; not make mistakes. * /When the principal of the school visited the class the students all minded their p's and q's./ * /If you wish to succeed you must mind your p's and q's./ (From the old U.S. Navy when sailors marked on a board in the bar how many Pints and Quarts of liquor they had taken. It was bad manners to cheat.) Syn.: WATCH ONE'S STEP.
[mind-reader] See: READ ONE'S MIND.
[mind you] <v. phr.>, <informal> I want you to notice and understand. * /Mind you, I am not blaming him./
[mine] See: BACK TO THE SALT MINES, RUN OF THE MILL or RUN OF THE MINE.
[mine of information] <n. phr.> A person, a book, etc., that is a valuable source of information. * /A dictionary can be a mine of information./ * /He is a mine of information on the stock market./
[minority leader] <n. phr.> The leader of the political party that has fewer votes in a legislative house. * /The minority leader of the Senate supported the bill./ * /The minority leader in the House of Representatives held a caucus./ Compare: MAJORITY LEADER.
[mint money] See: COIN MONEY.
[minutes of the meeting] <n. phr.> The notes taken by the recording secretary; of an official body or an association recording of what was said and transacted during the given session. * /"Shall we accept the minutes of our last meeting as read by the secretary?" the chairman asked./
[misfire] <v.> To fail to appeal; fall flat. * /The standup comic's jokes misfired with the audience./ Compare: GO OVER LIKE A LEAD BALLOON.
[miss] See: HEART SKIP A BEAT or HEART MISS A BEAT.
[miss a trick] <v. phr.> To fail to see, hear, or notice something of even the slightest importance. * /He never misses a trick when it comes to the stock market./
[miss by a mile] <v. phr.>, <informal> 1. To shoot at something and be far from hitting it; not hit near. * /Jack's first shot missed the target by a mile./ 2. To be very wrong; be far from right. * /Lee tried to guess on the examination, but his answers missed by a mile./ 3. To fail badly; not succeed at all. * /John Brown wanted to be governor but in the election he missed by a mile./
[missing link] n. 1. Something needed to complete a group; a missing part of a chain of things. * /A 1936 penny was the missing link in John's collection of pennies./ * /The detective hunted for the fact that was the missing link in the case./ 2. An unknown extinct animal that was supposed to be a connection between man and lower animals. * /The missing link would be half man and half ape./
[miss is as good as a mile] It is the same if one fails or misses something by much or by little. - A proverb. * /We thought Tom had a home run but the ball went foul by inches. A miss is as good as a mile./
[Missouri] See: FROM MISSOURI.
[miss out] <v.>, <informal> To fail; lose or not take a good chance; miss something good. * /Jim's mother told him he missed out on a chance to go fishing with his father because he came home late./ * /You missed out by not coming with us; we had a great time./ Compare: LOSE OUT.
[miss the boat] also [miss the bus] <v. phr.>, <informal> To fail through slowness; to put something off until too late; do the wrong thing and lose the chance. * /Mr. Brown missed the boat when he decided not to buy the house./ * /In college he didn't study enough so he missed the boat and failed to pass./ * /Ted could have married Lena but he put off asking her and missed the boat./
[miss the point] <v. phr.> To be unable to comprehend the essence of what was meant. * /The student didn't get a passing grade on the exam because, although he wrote three pages, he actually missed the point./
[mistake] See: BY MISTAKE.
[misty-eyed] or [dewey-eyed] <adj. phr.> 1. Having eyes damp with tears; emotional. * /The teacher was misty-eyed when the school gave her a retirement gift./ 2. Of the kind who cries easily; sentimental. * /The movie appealed to dewey-eyed girls./
[mixed bag] <n. phr.> A varied set of people, ideas, objects, or circumstances, including both the good and the bad. * /This report is a mixed bag of opinions./ * /There was a mixed bag of people at the press conference./
[mixed blessing] <n.> Something good that has bad features. * /John's new bicycle was a mixed blessing. The other boys were always asking John to ride it./