Mortimer, Bob
912
flesh. —fification /ˌmɔːtɪfɪˈkeɪʃn, mɔːr-/ n [U] He discover-
ed, to his mortification, that his son knew more about the
subject than he did. | mortification of the flesh
Mor-ti-mer, Bob /ˈmɔːtɪməʳ || mɔːr-/ (1959–) a British COME-
DIAN who appears on television with another comedian, Vic
Reeves. Their style of humour is deliberately very silly.
mor-tise /ˈmɔːtɪs || ˈmɔːr-/ n tech a hole cut in a piece of wood
or stone to receive the TENON (=the shaped end) of another
piece, and form a joint
'mortise lock n a lock that fits into a hole cut in the edge of
a door
Mor-ton, Jelly Roll /ˈmɔːtn || ˈmɔːr-/ (1885–1941) a US JAZZ
piano player and band leader, who helped to develop NEW
ORLEANS jazz
mor-tu-a-ry¹ /ˈmɔːtʃʊəri || ˈmɔːrtʃʊeri/ n 1 a building or
room where a dead body is kept until the time of the
funeral 2 AmE FUNERAL HOME
mortuary² adj [A] tech connected with death or funerals: a
mortuary urn
mo-sa-ic /məʊˈzeɪ-ɪk/ n 1 [C,U] (a piece of decorative work
produced by) the fitting together of small pieces of coloured
stone, glass etc, so as to form a pattern or picture 2 [C(of)
usually sing.] a number of small things seen together that seem
to form a pattern: The forest floor was a mosaic of autumnal
colours.
Mosaic adj connected with or relating to Moses, the great
leader of the Jewish people in ancient times: Mosaic law
Mo,saic 'Law also the Law of Moses n [U] the rules and
laws stated in the PENTATEUCH, which is the first five books of
the Old Testament of the Bible. These rules and laws are
believed to have been given by God to MOSES, and Jewish
Law is based on them. → see also TORAH
Mos-cow /ˈmɒskaʊ || ˈmɑːskaʊ, -kəʊ/ the capital of Russia,
and formerly of the Soviet Union. Its many famous and
beautiful buildings and LANDMARKS include the Kremlin,
where the government is based, St. Basil's Cathedral, and
Red Square.
mo-selle /məʊˈzel/ n [U] (often cap.) a type of light German
white wine originally made in the valley of the Moselle river
Mose-ly Braun, Carol /ˈməʊzli brɑːn/ (1947–) a US politi-
cian and lawyer who became the first African-American
woman to be elected to the US Senate. She was a Senator
from 1992–1998 and was the US Ambassador to New Zea-
land from 1999–2001.
Mo-ses /ˈməʊzɪz/ a leader of the Jewish people in ancient
times. According to the story in the Bible, he brought the
ISRAELITES out of Egypt. They were able to escape from the
Egyptians when God parted (PART²) the RED SEA so that they
could walk across the sea bed. Moses received the TEN
COMMANDMENTS (=God's laws) from God on Mount Sinai.
Moses, Grandma (1860–1961) a US artist who did not begin
painting until she was almost 70 years old. Her paintings of
life in the American countryside are in the PRIMITIVE style
(=they are very simple, and made to look like children's
paintings).
'Moses basket BrE, ||
bassinet AmE n a type of
basket with handles, in
which a baby can sleep and
be carried. Moses baskets
take their name from the
story in the Old Testament
of the Bible, in which
Moses, as a baby, was left in
a basket beside the River
Nile.
mo-sey /ˈməʊzi/ v [I+adv/prep]
AmE infml to walk in an
unhurried way: It's getting
late; we'd better mosey along.
(=leave) | He moseyed across
to the bar.
mosh-ing /ˈmɒʃŋ || ˈmɑː-/ n
[U] a very active style of
dancing that is popular especially in the US and is done at
loud music concerts. Moshing involves running and jumping
into the other people in the 'mosh pit' (=group of people
dancing this way) and people who go moshing often also do
CROWD SURFING and STAGE DIVING. —mosh v [I]
Mos-lem /ˈmɒzləm || ˈmɑːz-/ n another spelling of MUSLIM
which some Muslims dislike —Moslem adj
Mos-ley, Sir Oswald /ˈmɒzli/ (1896–1980) a British politi-
cian with extreme RIGHT-WING ideas. He was a Member of
Parliament from 1918 to 1931, but in 1932 he started a new
political group called the British Union of Fascists (BUF).
Mosley admired Mussolini and Hitler, and the BUF organ-
ized attacks on Jewish people in London.
mosque /mɒsk || mɑːsk/ n a building in which Muslims
worship
mos-qui-to /məˈskiːtəʊ/ n pl. -toes or -tos a small flying
insect, found especially in hot countries, that sucks the blood
of people and animals. A particular sort of mosquito can pass
the illness MALARIA in this way. → see picture at INSECT
mos'quito net n a net placed over a bed as a protection
against mosquitoes, especially in hot countries
moss /mɒs || mɔːs/ n [U] a small flat green or yellow flowerless
plant that grows in a thick furry mass on wet soil, or on a
wet surface such as a rock → compare LICHEN
Moss, Kate /keɪt/ (1974–) a famous British model. She is well
known for being very thin. She has also acted in some films.
Moss Bros /ˈmɒs brɒs || ˈmɔːs brɔːs/ trademark a shop in
many UK cities. It sells men's clothes, but is best known as a
place where you can rent formal clothes for special occa-
sions, such as weddings or formal dinners.
'moss-grown adj covered with moss
'Moss Side an area of central Manchester. People used to
think of Moss Side as a dangerous place where there were
GANGS (=groups of violent criminals) who sold drugs, but
much of the area has been rebuilt.
moss-y /ˈmɒsi || ˈmɔːsi/ adj 1 covered with moss: a mossy
bank 2 like moss: mossy green
-most → see WORD FORMATION TABLE
most¹ /məʊst/ adv 1 (used for forming the SUPERLATIVE of
most adjectives and adverbs with more than two SYLLABLES
and of many that have only two): the most comfortable hotel
in this town | Which question did you think was most
difficult? | All the girls are good at English, but Sue speaks it
(the) most fluently. → opposite LEAST 2. to the greatest
degree; more than anything else: What annoyed me most was
the way he laughed at me. | Geography is interesting, and
English, but I like history most of all. → opposite LEAST 3 fml
very: It's most kind of you! | a most enjoyable party | I shall
most certainly attend the meeting. | He'll most probably sell the
house. → see USAGE 4 dial or AmE infml almost: He plays cards
most every evening.
USAGE Most can be used with the meaning 'very' only
before adjectives and adverbs that express the speaker's
personal feeling or opinion. Compare a most beautiful
woman | a most amazing coincidence | Most certainly I
can do it and a very tall woman | I can do it very quickly.
most² determiner, pron (superlative of many, much) 1 [ (of)] nearly
all: Most people take their holidays in the summer. | He spends
most of his time travelling. 2 [ (the)] greatest in number or
quantity: The storm did (the) most damage to the houses on
the cliff. (=it damaged them more than any other houses) | I
didn't have any money to give him: the most I could do was
offer him my support. 3 at (the) most not more than; if not
less: She's 25 years old, at most. | The repairs will cost £35, at
the very most. → compare at (the) least (LEAST²) 4 for the
most part almost completely; mainly: Summers in the south
of France are for the most part dry and sunny. 5 make the
most of to get the best advantage from: We've only got one
day in London, so let's make the most of it and see everything.
Mos-tar /ˈmɒstɑʳ || ˈmɑː-/ a city in Herzegovina, the southern
part of Bosnia-Herzegovina. It has many historical buildings,
including the Stari Most bridge over the Neretva river. It was
badly damaged in the CIVIL WAR of 1992–95, but has since
been rebuilt and is popular with tourists.
,most-favoured-'nation ,status n [U] an arrangement
which forms part of a trade agreement between several
countries. A country which has signed the agreement is
allowed to have any TARIFF reductions which may have been
arranged between a country in the agreement and another
country outside the agreement.