Mountie
916
Mountie
that women are afraid of mice, and CARTOONs often show
women standing on chairs to escape from a mouse.
2 infml a quiet nervous fearful person, especially a girl or
woman 3 tech, pl. mouses — a small object connected to a
computer by a wire which, when moved by hand, causes a
CURSOR to move around on a VDU so that choices can be
made within the PROGRAM in use -> see also play cat and
mouse with (CAT)
'mouse mat also 'mouse pad AmE — n a small piece of flat
material with a special surface which you move a computer
mouse on
mous-er /'mausər/ n a cat that catches mice: Our cat's a
good mouser.
mouse-trap /'maus-træp/ n. 1 a trap for catching mice,
worked by a spring, and usually supplied with a small piece
of cheese for attracting the mice 2 BrE infml mousetrap cheese
Mousetrap, The a play by Agatha CHRISTIE, which was first
performed in the WEST END of London in 1952, and has been
performed there continuously for longer than any other
play in the world. It is a WHODUNIT (=a play about a murder
in which you do not find out who did the murder until the
end).
,mousetrap 'cheese n [U] BrE infml cheese which is cheap
and of poor quality
mous-sa-ka /mu:'sɑ:kə/ n [U] a baked Greek dish made
from MINCED meat, and AUBERGINES with BECHAMEL sauce
on top
mousse /mu:s/ n 1 [C,U] (often in comb.) (a light usually sweet
dish made from) cream, eggs, and other substances mixed
together and eaten cold: chocolate mousse 2 a FROTHY sub-
stance usually sold in an AEROSOL and put on hair to
thicken it or to hold it in a particular style
mous-tache || also mustache AmE /mə'stɑ:ʃ||'mæstæʃ/ n
hair growing on the upper lip of a man: He's shaved off his
moustache. -> compare BEARD¹
mous-y, -ey /'mausi/ adj 1 often derog (of hair) having a dull
brownish-grey colour 2 derog (of a person, especially a girl or
woman) unattractively plain and quiet; DRAB 3 infml of or like
mice: a mousy smell —iness n [U]
mouth¹ /mauθ/ n pl. mouths /mauðz/ 1 a) the opening on
the face through which a person or animal can take food
into the body, and speak or make sounds: The dentist told
him to open his mouth wide. | They've got eight children; that's
an awful lot of mouths to feed! | What beautiful chocolates!
They really make my mouth water! (=I want to eat them
very much.) b) infml (in certain phrases) the mouth when
thought of as being used for speaking and making sounds:
Don't tell him any secrets; he's got a big mouth. (=he talks too
much, and will tell someone) | I just mentioned Jim's girl-
friend to his wife - me and my big mouth! (=I said something
I should not have said) (BrE) | Don't worry, he won't report you
to the headmaster; he's all mouth. (=he says he will do
things but doesn't have the courage to actually do them) |
Don't believe what he says about all the girlfriends he's had —
he's all mouth and trousers. (=he claims to be very attractive
sexually but this is not true) | You can tell him anything; he
knows how to keep his mouth shut. | Shut your mouth, you
fool! (=stop talking) 2 an opening, entrance, or way out: the
mouth of a river (=where it joins the sea) | the mouth of a
cave 3 down in the mouth infml not cheerful;
unhappy 4 out of the mouths (of babes and sucklings) a
phrase from the Bible, used when a child has just said
something sensible or wise 5 -mouthed /mauðd, mauθt/
a) usually derog having the stated way of speaking:
loudmouthed | foul-mouthed b) having the stated kind of
mouth: a wide-mouthed jar -> see also put one's foot in
one's mouth (FOOT¹), look a gift horse in the mouth (GIFT
HORSE), from hand to mouth (HAND¹), (straight) from the
horse's mouth (HORSE¹), put one's money where one's
mouth is (MONEY), shoot one's mouth off (SHOOT¹), by word
of mouth, put words into someone's mouth, take the words
out of someone's mouth (WORD¹)
mouth² /mauð/ v 1 [T] to move one's lips as if saying
(words) but without making any sound: The actor mouthed
the words of the recorded song. 2 [T] to say especially repeat-
edly and without understanding or sincerity: mouthing
platitudes | mouthing curses 3 [I(OFF)] infml derog to speak
Mountie
M
Mount-ie /'maunti/ n infml a member of a special Canadian
police group called the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. They
ride horses, wear bright red JACKETS (=short coats) and black
trousers, and they are often considered to be a SYMBOL of
Canada. People say that a Mountie 'always gets his man',
meaning that Mounties always catch the criminals they are
chasing.
mount-ing /'mauntIN/ n a fixed object to which other
things, especially parts of a machine, are fastened, and
which keeps them in place: The winch broke loose from its
mountings. | The car's engine is supported by four rubberized
mountings.
Mount Kilimanjaro -> see KILIMANJARO
Mount McKinley -> see DENALI
Mount of 'Olives, the a mountain east of Jerusalem,
mentioned in the New Testament of the Bible, especially as
the place of Jesus Christ's ASCENSION to Heaven -> see also
ASCENSION DAY
Mount Olympus -> see OLYMPUS¹
Mount Palomar -> see PALOMAR
Mount Rainier -> see RAINIER
Mount Saint Helens -> see ST HELENS
Mount Sinai -> see SINAI
Mount Ver-non /maunt 'v3:n@n||-'v3:r-/ the home of
George WASHINGTON between 1747 and 1799 and the place
where he is buried. It is in northeast Virginia, US and is now
a MUSEUM.
Mount Vesuvius -> see VESUVIUS
mourn /mO:n||mO:rn/ v [(for, over); T] to feel and/or show grief
(for), especially because of someone's death: The old woman
still mourns her son's death/mourns for her son. | We all
mourn the passing of the steam train. (=wish that they had
not stopped being used)
mourn-er /'mO:n@r||'mO:r-/ n a person who attends a funeral
mourn-ful /'mO:nf@l||'mO:rn-/ adj sometimes derog sad; causing,
feeling, or expressing sorrow: a mournful occasion | a mourn-
ful expression on her face—ly adv -> -ness n [U]
mourn-ing /'mO:nIN||'mO:r-/ n [U] 1 (the expression of)
grief, especially for a death: All the flags were at half-mast, as
a sign of mourning for the dead president. 2 the clothes,
black in Britain and some other countries, worn to show
grief at the death of someone: The royal court went into
mourning (=started to wear black) when the queen died. | a
widow dressed in deep (=complete) mourning
mouse /maus/ n pl. mice /maIs/ 1 (often in comb.) a small furry
animal with a long tail that lives in houses and in fields,
related to but smaller than a rat: I think we've got mice in the
kitchen. | The children were as quiet as mice. (=very quiet) | a
field mouse
CULTURAL NOTE Mice are thought of as quiet, shy
animals, and people sometimes tell children to be 'as
quiet as a mouse', meaning that they should be very
quiet. Mice are thought to like cheese, which is often used
in MOUSETRAPS to catch mice. There is a STEREOTYPE