mash

¹

[ mash ]

verb (used with object)

1. to crush:

   He mashed his thumb with a hammer.

2. to reduce to a soft, pulpy mass, as by beating or pressure, especially in the preparation of food.
3. to mix (crushed malt or meal of grain) with hot water to form wort.

noun

1. a soft, pulpy mass.
2. a pulpy condition.
3. a mixture of boiled grain, bran, meal, etc., fed warm to horses and cattle.
4. crushed malt or meal of grain mixed with hot water to form wort.
5. British Slang. mashed potatoes.

mash

²

[ mash ]

noun

1. a flirtation or infatuation.
2. a person who seeks another's affection or who is the object of affection.

verb (used with object)

1. to flirt with; court the affections of.

MASH

³

[ mash ]

noun

1. mobile army surgical hospital.

MASH

¹

/ mæʃ /

acronym for

1. Mobile Army Surgical Hospital

mash

²

/ mæʃ /

noun

1. a soft pulpy mass or consistency
2. agriculture a feed of bran, meal, or malt mixed with water and fed to horses, cattle, or poultry
3. (esp in brewing) a mixture of mashed malt grains and hot water, from which malt is extracted
4. informal.
   mashed potatoes
5. dialect.
   a brew of tea

verb

1. to beat or crush into a mash
2. to steep (malt grains) in hot water in order to extract malt, esp for making malt liquors
3. dialect.
   to brew (tea)
4. archaic.
   to flirt with

Derived Forms

• mashed, adjective
• ˈmasher, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of mash¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English mash- and Old English mǣsc-, noun used in compounds, as in Middle English mashfat and Old English mǣscfat “mash-vat,” and mǣscwyrt “mash wort”; cognate with German Maische

Origin of mash²

First recorded in 1870–75; originally theatrical argot; further origin uncertain; flirt ( def ), sweetheart, lover

Word History and Origins

Origin of mash¹

Old English mǣsc- (in compound words); related to Middle Low German mēsch

Example Sentences

Andy Green, who founded the Modern Cockney Festival, said obtaining the status "may kickstart a fresh look from government agencies and public bodies to recognise the tradition and culture that pie 'n' mash represents".

From BBC

Mr Green said its Cockney identity had spread further than the traditional areas of east and south London, marked by the spread of pie 'n' and mash shops, from Bishop's Stortford in Hertfordshire to Tunbridge Wells in Kent.

From BBC

Mr Holden said he has written to more than 40 MPs who have a pie 'n' mash shop in their constituency, adding: "It's part of a campaign to celebrate and really promote pie and mash, which has spread out from its beginnings in central and east London, down the Thames Gateway and out into the world."

From BBC

The dish has also been immortalised in EastEnders, with Beale's Eels Pie & Mash House.

From BBC

Now an Essex MP is to lead a parliamentary debate calling for traditional pie 'n' mash with liquor to get protected status, like champagne and Cornish Pasties.

From BBC

Related Words

• chew
• crush
• grind
• scrunch
• squeeze
• squish