M.A.S.H.

mash¹ «mash», noun, verb.

–n.

1. a soft mixture; soft mass: »

He beat the potato into a mash before eating it. A mash of snow covered the walk.

2. a) a warm mixture of bran or meal and water for horses and other animals. b) any one of various mixtures of ground grain, often supplemented with proteins, antibiotics, or other additives, used as feed for poultry, livestock, and pets.

3. a) crushed malt or meal soaked in hot water for making beer or ale. b) a similar preparation of rye, corn, barley, or other grain, used to make whiskey.

4. Figurative. a confused mixture; muddle.

–v.t.

1. to beat into a soft mass; crush to a uniform mass: »

I'll mash the potatoes.

2. to mix (crushed malt or meal) with hot water in brewing.

╂[Old English māsc-, māx-, in māx-wyrt mash-wort]

mash² «mash», verb, noun. Slang.

–v.t., v.i.

to look (at) with amorous desire; flirt (with); ogle: »

Shan't I just mash the men! (Arnold Bennett).

–n.

a person, especially a woman, who is looked at in this way.

╂[origin uncertain]

MASH (no periods) or M.A.S.H.,

mobile army surgical hospital.