Vol 5 . . . No 3 . . . November, 1995



What's it mean? "Mucking About"

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition provides the following definitions for "muck about" and "muck." These definitions are, of course, PWWW (Pre World Wide Web).

muck about

To spend time idly; putter. Chiefly British - phrasal verb.

muck up Informal.

To bungle, damage, or ruin.

[Middle English muk, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse myki, dung.]

- muck[[hungarumlaut]]ily adverb

- muck[[hungarumlaut]]y adjective

muck (mùk) noun

1. A moist, sticky mixture, especially of mud and filth.

2. Moist farmyard dung; manure.

3. Dark, fertile soil containing decaying vegetable matter.

4. Something filthy or disgusting.

5. Earth, rocks, or clay excavated in mining.

verb, transitive

mucked, mucking, mucks

1. To fertilize with manure or compost.

2. To make dirty with or as if with muck.

3. To remove muck or dirt from (a mine, for example).

From the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition in Microsoft BookShelf.


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