mush

¹

[ muhsh moosh ]

noun

1. meal, especially cornmeal, boiled in water or milk until it forms a thick, soft mass, or until it is stiff enough to mold into a loaf for slicing and frying.
2. any thick, soft mass.
3. mawkish sentimentality or amorousness.
4. anything unpleasantly or contemptibly lacking in coherence, force, dignity, etc.:

   His entire argument was simply mush.

verb (used with object)

1. to squeeze or crush; compress:

   to mush all the candy together in a sticky ball.

   Synonyms: smush, mash

mush

²

[ muhsh ]

verb (used without object)

1. to go or travel, especially over snow with a dog team and sled.

verb (used with object)

1. to drive or spur on (sled dogs or a sled drawn by dogs).

interjection

1. go! (used as an order to start or speed up a dog team)

noun

1. a trip or journey, especially across snow and ice with a dog team.

mush

¹

/ mʊʃ /

noun

1. slang.
   a familiar or contemptuous term of address

mush

²

/ mʌʃ /

interjection

1. an order to dogs in a sled team to start up or go faster

verb

1. to travel by or drive a dog sled
2. intr to travel on foot, esp with snowshoes

noun

1. a journey with a dogsled

mush

³

/ mʌʃ /

noun

1. a soft pulpy mass or consistency
2. a thick porridge made from corn meal
3. informal.
   cloying sentimentality
4. radio interference in reception, esp a hissing noise

verb

1. tr to reduce (a substance) to a soft pulpy mass

mush

⁴

/ mʊʃ /

noun

1. a slang word for face

Derived Forms

• ˈmusher, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of mush¹

An Americanism dating back to 1665–75; obscurely related to mash ¹

Origin of mush²

First recorded in 1860–65; perhaps originally as phrasal verb mush on!, from Canadian French, French marchons! “let's go!”; march ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of mush¹

C19: probably from Gypsy moosh a man

Origin of mush²

C19: perhaps from French marchez or marchons, imperatives of marcher to advance

Origin of mush³

C17: from obsolete moose porridge; probably related to mash ; compare Old English mōs food

Origin of mush⁴

C19: from mush ¹, alluding to the softness of the face

Example Sentences

She comes off one way, but inside, I think she's a ball of mush somewhere – you have to peel back the layers and the layers and the layers.

From Salon

The mere sight of a yellow and black jersey turned their composure to mush.

From BBC

But it would have been comforting to squeeze something tightly, like a sword hilt, instead of squishing a handful of figs into a sloppy mush.

From Literature

Right before lunch I go to the boys’ room at school and mush the putty through my hair until it stands on end all over my head.

From Literature

Sled dog teams also played an important role in connecting Alaska to the outside world as postal carriers mushed on their routes before airplanes took over.

From Seattle Times