Словарь американских идиом (8000 единиц)
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[melt] See: BUTTER WOULDN'T MELT IN ONE'S MOUTH, MELT IN ONE'S MOUTH.
[melting pot] <n. phr.> A country where different nationalities mingle and mix with the result that, in the second generation, most people speak the main language of the country and behave like the majority. * /It is no longer considered entirely true that the United States is a melting pot; many immigrants speak a second language./
[melt in one's mouth] <v. phr.> 1. To be so tender as to seem to need no chewing. * /The chicken was so tender that it melted in your mouth./ 2. To taste very good; be delicious. * /Mother's apple pie really melts in your mouth./
[memory] See: IN MEMORY OF.
[mend] See: ON THE MEND.
[mend one's fences] <v. phr.>, <informal> To do something to make people like or follow you again; strengthen your friendships or influence. * /The senator went home from Washington to mend his fences./ * /John saw that his friends did not like him, so he decided to mend his fences./
[mend one's ways] <v. phr.> To reform; change one's behavior from negative to positive. * /He had better mend his ways or he'll wind up in jail./
[mental telepathy] <n. phr.> The passing of one person's thoughts to another without any discoverable talking or carrying of signals between them. * /Mrs. Smith knew the moment her husband's ship sank on the other side of the world. It seems like a case of mental telepathy./ * /Most or all men who practice mental telepathy on stage have really trained themselves to detect tiny clues from the audience./
[mention] See: NOT TO MENTION.
[meow] See: CAT'S MEOW.
[mercy] See: AT THE MERCY OF.
[mercy killing] <n. phr.> The act of killing a terminally ill patient or animal in order to avoid further suffering. * /Mercy killing of humans is illegal in most countries, yet many doctors practice it secretly./
[merrier] See: MORE THE MERRIER.
[merry] See: LEAD A MERRY CHASE, MAKE MERRY.
[message] See: GET THE MESSAGE.
[mess around] <v. phr.> 1. To engage in idle or purposeless activity. * /Come on, you guys, - start doing some work, don't just mess around all day!/ 2. <vulgar> To be promiscuous; to indulge in sex with little discrimination as to who the partner is. * /Allen needs straightening out; he's been messing around with the whole female population of his class./ Compare: FOOL AROUND.
[mess up] <v. phr.>, <slang>, <informal> 1. To cause trouble; to spoil something. * /What did you have to mess up my accounts for?/ 2. To cause someone emotional trauma. * /Sue will never get married; she got messed up when she was a teenager./ 3. To beat up someone physically. * /When Joe came in after the fight with the boys, he was all messed up./
[method in (to) one's madness] <n. phr.> A plan or organization of ideas hard to perceive at first, but that becomes noticeable after longer and closer examination. * /We thought he was crazy to threaten to resign from the university but, when he was offered a tenured full professorship, we realized that there had been method in his madness./
[mickey mouse(1)] <adj.>, <slang> Inferior; second rate; chicken; easy; gimmicky. * /Watch out for Perkins; he's full of mickey mouse ideas./
[mickey mouse(2)] <n.> (<derogatory>) A stupid person; a policeman; a white man (as used by blacks).
[midair] See: UP IN THE AIR(2) also IN MIDAIR.
[middle] See: CHANGE HORSES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREAM, IN THE MIDDLE.
[middle ground] <n.> A place halfway between the two sides of an argument; a compromise. * /John wanted to go running. Bill said it was too hot. Tom took the middle ground and suggested a hike./ * /The committee found a middle ground between the two proposals./
[middleman] <n.> A person or small business standing in an intermediary position between two parties. * /A retail merchant is the middleman between the factory and the consumer./
[middle of the road] <n. phr.> A way of thinking which does not favor one idea or thing too much; being halfway between two different ideas. * /The teacher did not support the boys or the girls in the debate, but stayed in the middle of the road./
[middle-of-the-road] <adj.> Favoring action halfway between two opposite movements or ideas; with ideas halfway between two opposite sides; seeing good on both sides. * /The men who wrote the Constitution followed a middle-of-the-road plan on whether greater power belonged to the United States government or to the separate states./ * /Senator Jones favors a middle-of-the-road policy in the labor-management dispute./
[midfield stripe] <n.> The line across the center of a football field; the 50-yard line. * /The visitors were able to cross the midfield stripe once during the whole game./
[midnight oil] See: BURN THE MIDNIGHT OIL.
[midstream] See: CHANGE HORSES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREAM or CHANGE HORSES IN MIDSTREAM.
[might] See: WITH MIGHT AND MAIN.
[mighty] See: HIGH-AND-MIGHTY.
[mile] See: GIVE ONE AN INCH AND HE WILL TAKE A MILE, JAW DROP or JAW DROP A MILE, MISS BY A MILE, MISS IS AS GOOD AS A MILE.
[mile markers] <n.>, <slang>, <citizen's band radio jargon> Small signs along interstate highways usually bearing a number. * /The Smokey is located at 131 mile marker./
[miles away] <adj. phr.> Inattentive; not concentrating. * /When Betty said, "We have theater tickets for tonight," Ken didn't react as his mind was miles away./
[milk] See: CRY OVER SPILLED MILK.
[mill] See: RUN-OF-THE-MILL, THROUGH THE MILL.
[mill around] <v. phr.> To move impatiently in no particular direction. * /The crowd milled around, waiting for the arrival of the president./
[million] See: FEEL LIKE A MILLION, LOOK LIKE A MILLION DOLLARS.
[millstone around one's neck] <n. phr.> An intolerable burden. * /Max said that his old car was a millstone around his neck./ Compare: MONKEY ON ONE'S BACK.
[mince words] <v. phr.> To choose words carefully for the sake of politeness or deception. * /I like people who speak frankly and truthfully without mincing words./
[mind] See: CROSS ONE'S MIND or PASS THROUGH ONE'S MIND, GIVE A PIECE OF ONE'S MIND, HALF A MIND, IN MIND, IN ONE'S MIND'S EYE, MAKE UP ONE'S MIND, NEVER MIND, ON ONE'S MIND, OUT OF ONE'S HEAD or OUT OF ONE'S MIND, PUT IN MIND OF, READ ONE'S MIND.