M
from The Liverpool English Dictionary
Summary
Ma (n.): mother. ‘There's some fancy gents to see you, Ma’ (Hall 2004 [1939]: 232). ‘If yer wanna win go wid yer ma’ (Jacques 1973: n.p.). ‘Is it summat yer ma puts in yer tea?’ (Sinclair 1999: 9). ‘Me ma said’ (Sanders and Sanders 2009 [1960s]: 32). Recorded from e.19c.; an abbreviation of ‘mam’.
Mac (n.): familiar term of address. ‘If, on one day, you are cordially hailed as “mate”, “sis” (sister), “la” (lad), “Mac” (favoured by bus conductors), “chuck”, “wack” or even simply “yew” (plural “youse”) do not be annoyed’ (Shaw 1963e: 4). ‘Fuck you mack, out of my way’ (Parker 1974: 104). Recorded from e.20c.; an Americanism; an extension of Gaelic ‘mac’, ‘son’.
Maccyowler (n.): a cat; by extension, a fur coat. ‘One nudged the other, pointed to my parent's fur coat, and defined the coat as “maccyowler”’ (Wozyer 1950: 2). ‘“Maccyowler” means a “backyard moggy” – in other refined expressions “a cat”’ (Wright 1951: 4). ‘Maccyowler. A fur coat. Liverpool’ (Howarth 1985: n.p.). *NR; from moggy and yowler.
Made up (adj.): very pleased, happy. ‘“He was made up” (satisfied)’ (Shaw 1964a: 12). ‘Made-up: Happy, pleased’ (Lane 1966: 65). ‘Tony was made up with himself for about a week’ (Bleasdale 1975: 28). ‘Made up … Pleased, delighted’ (Brown 1989: 5). ‘I was made up myself that they was so made up’ (Sampson 2002: 233). ‘We were made up to get cases all the same size’ (Burnett 2011: 54). Recorded from m.20c.; derivation unclear but probably from 16c. sense of ‘made’, ‘assured of happiness’ (compare ‘made man’); the phrase appears in Irish English and Liverpool English at the same time.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Liverpool English DictionaryA Record of the Language of Liverpool 1850–2015 on Historical Principles, pp. 145 - 158Publisher: Liverpool University PressPrint publication year: 2017