Menai Straits, the
876
Men·ai Straits, the /ˌmenaɪ ˈstreɪts/ a narrow area of sea
in North Wales, between the Welsh coast and the island of
Anglesey
Men Beˌhaving ˈBadly a humorous British television
programme about two young men, Gary and Tony, who live
in the same apartment and behave in a rude silly way,
playing tricks on each other, talking about sex and women
all the time, and drinking too much beer
MEN·CAP /ˈmenkæp/ the Royal Society for Mentally Handi-
capped Children and Adults, a British CHARITY organization
that gives advice and practical help to people who have
learning difficulties, and supports changes in the law that
will help these people
mend¹ /mend/ v 1 [T] to repair (a break, fault etc) in
(something): to mend a hole in the pipe | to mend a shirt 2 [I]
inform a) (of a part of the body) to become well or healthy
again b) (of a person) to regain one's health 3 mend
(one's) fences to remove the bad effects of one's former
actions, for example by becoming friendly with a person
one has offended 4 mend one's ways to improve one's
behaviour, work etc
mend² n 1 a repaired place: These trousers have a mend (=a
PATCH or DARN) on the knee. 2 on the mend inform getting
better after illness
men·da·cious /menˈdeɪʃəs/ adj fml (of a person or state-
ment) not truthful; lying —ly adv
men·da·ci·ty /menˈdæsɪti/ n [U] fml untruthfulness
Men·del, Greg·or Jo·hann /ˈmendl, ˌgregɔː
ˈjəhən||ˌgregɔːr jəʊhɑn/ (1822–84) an Austrian MONK (=a
member of a group of Christian men who live apart from
other people) who studied the PEA plant in order to find out
how qualities are passed from parent plants to their chil-
dren. Many years later his discoveries were used by scientists
who were developing the new science of GENETICS.
Men·de·ley·ev, Dmi·tri /ˌmendəˈleɪev, dəˈmiːtri/ (1834–
1907) a Russian scientist who invented the PERIODIC TABLE, a
list of all the ELEMENTS (=basic chemical substances) arranged
according to their atomic number
Men·dels·sohn, Fe·lix /ˈmendəlsɒn, ˈfiːlɪks/ (1809–47) a
German COMPOSER (=writer of music), who wrote five sym-
phonies (SYMPHONY) and the OVERTURE Fingal's Cave. The
Wedding March from his Incidental Music to A Midsummer
Night's Dream is usually played at church weddings as the
newly married man and woman leave the church.
mend·er /ˈmendər/ n someone who repairs something
Men·des, Sam /ˈmendɪz, sæm/ (1965–) a British FILM DIREC-
TOR who has also directed theatre plays. His films include
American Beauty and Road to Perdition. He married the British
actress Kate Winslet in 2003.
men·di·cant /ˈmendɪkənt/ adj, n (a person) living as a
beggar
mend·ing /ˈmendŋ/ n [U] clothes to be mended: a basket of
mending
Men·dip Hills, the /ˌmendɪp ˈhɪlz/ also the Mendips [P]
a RANGE of hills in southwest England, in the COUNTY of
Somerset
Men·e·la·us /ˌmenˈleɪəs/ in ancient Greek stories, the king
of SPARTA, the brother of Agamemnon, and the husband of
HELEN of TROY ➔ see also ILIAD, TROJAN WAR
Men·em, Car·los /ˈmenem, ˈkɑːləs||ˈkɑːrləs/ (1935–) the
President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999, and leader of the
Peronist party. He introduced big economic changes, includ-
ing reductions in government spending and a policy of
PRIVATIZATION (=selling government organizations and
industries to become private companies).
men·folk /ˈmenfəʊk/ n [P] inform men, especially one's male
relatives
M Eng /ˌem ˈen/ n abbrev. for Master of Engineering; a univer-
sity higher degree in ENGINEERING that you get after your first
degree. M Eng is written after someone's name to show that
they have this degree: Tony Smith, M Eng
Men·gis·tu, Hai·le Ma·ri·am /menˈgɪstuː, ˌhaɪli
ˈmɑːriəm/ (1937–) an Ethiopian soldier who took control of
the government in 1977. He was defeated in 1991 by
opposing military forces after years of CIVIL WAR had caused
many deaths and an extreme lack of food in the country.
me·ni·al¹ /ˈmiːniəl/ adj (of work) not interesting or skilled,
and done by unimportant people: menial jobs like washing
the floor —ly adv
menial² n derog someone who does menial work, especially a
servant in a house
men·in·gi·tis /ˌmenɪnˈdʒaɪtɪs/ n [U] a serious illness in
which the outer part of the brain is swollen
Men·no·nite /ˈmenənaɪt/ n a member of a Protestant reli-
gious group that refuses to join the armed forces or to hold
official public positions, and does not BAPTIZE its children.
There are several different Mennonite groups, including the
AMISH, and they live mostly in the US. —Mennonite adj
Men of Har·lech /ˌmen əv ˈhɑːrlek, -ˌɔːl-ˈhɑːr-/ the English
title of a traditional PATRIOTIC Welsh song
men·o·pause /ˈmenəpɔːz/ also change of life, change
euph — n the time when a woman's PERIODS stop, usually
between the ages of 45 and 50. Women are thought to
behave strangely during the menopause, for example by
having moods which often change. They may also suffer
from physical problems, especially HOT FLUSHES. ➔ compare
MALE MENOPAUSE —pausal /ˌmenəˈpɔːzəl/ adj
me·no·rah /məˈnɔːrə/ n a CANDLESTICK with space for usu-
ally eight CANDLES used in Chanukah celebrations in the
Jewish religious year. A Menorah with seven branches is the
official EMBLEM of the State of Israel.
Me·nor·ca /meˈnɔːkəl-ɔːr-/  see MINORCA
MENSA /ˈmensə/ an international organization for people
who are very intelligent. People take a test and are accepted
into the organization if they are among the top 2 per cent in
their country.
'men's ,movement, the a movement thought to have
begun in the late 1970s in which men, partly in reaction to
FEMINISM began to examine their emotions and behaviour in
different ways. It is not regarded very seriously by many
people. ➔ see also NEW MAN
'men's room n AmE for GENTS
mens sa·na in cor·po·re san·o /ˌmenz ˌsɑːnə ɪn
ˌkɔːpəri ˈsɑnəʊl-kɔːr-/ phrase a Latin phrase meaning 'a
sound mind in a sound body', often used when encouraging
people to take exercise to keep their bodies healthy
men·stru·al /ˈmenstrʊəl/ adj concerning a woman's PERIOD:
menstrual cycle
,menstrual 'period n fml for PERIOD
men·stru·ate /ˈmenstrueɪt/ v [I] tech to have a PERIOD
—ation /ˌmenstruˈeɪʃən/ n [C;U]
men·su·ra·ble /ˈmenʃərəbəl||-sərə-/ adj fml or tech for MEAS-
URABLE
men·su·ra·tion /ˌmenʃəˈreɪʃən||-səˈreɪ-/ n [U] fml or tech the
measuring of length, area, and VOLUME
mens·wear /ˈmenzweər/ n [U] clothing for men: a mens-
wear shop | the menswear department
men·tal /ˈmentl/ adj 1 of the mind: a child's mental
development | His problem is mental, not physical. | mental
health 2 [A] done or made only in the mind: mental
arithmetic | a mental picture | It's no use trying to explain
your computer to me – I've got a mental block about
them. 3 [A] concerning illness of the mind: a mental
hospital | mental treatment | mental patients 4 [F] slang
offensive mad or stupid: Don't listen to him. He's mental! —ly
adv: mentally ill
,mental 'age n a measure of someone's ability to use their
mind, according to the usual age at which such ability
would be found: The children in the special hospital are aged
from seven to thirteen, but they all have a mental age of less
than five.
,mental de'fective n derog a person who cannot learn or be
independent because of mental deficiency (=weakness of
the mind)
,mental 'handicap n a state of low mental development
usually from birth, caused by a variety of conditions
—mentally handicapped adj, n [(the P)] a special school for
the mentally handicapped | My son is mentally handicapped.
'mental ,hospital n old-fash considered offensive by some people
PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL