MC
- Master of Ceremonies
eg. My cousin was the MC for my sister's wedding.
MD
- Doctor of Medicine
eg. She received her MD when she was 26 years old and has been practicing medicine since then.
MIA
- Missing In Action
eg. According to some people in the United States there are still some MIA soldiers in Vietnam.
MP
- Member of Parliament - used in the United Kingdom and Canada etc
eg. There were several MPs at the restaurant where we had dinner.
MSc
- Master of Science
eg. The woman has an MSc in computer science and has been able to find a job easily.
Mind you.
- I want you to notice and understand.
eg. I don`t want to work any more overtime. Mind you, if there is an emergency I will be able to work extra in that case.
mad as a hornet
- very angry
eg. He was mad as a hornet when I saw him at the meeting yesterday.
main drag
- the most important street in a town
eg. We spent most of Saturday evening driving up and down the main drag of the town.
make a beeline for something
- hurry directly somewhere
eg. When he enters the cafeteria he always makes a beeline for the dessert section.
make a bundle
- make a lot of money
eg. My father made a bundle on the stock market in early 1998.
make a day of it
- do something all day
eg. We decided to make a day of it and spend the day at the beach.
make a dent in
- make progress
eg. We worked hard all day but we didn`t seem to make a dent in the amount of work left to do.
make a difference
- cause a change in a situation
eg. It doesn`t make any difference whether he comes to the meeting or not.
make a go of
- succeed, produce good results
eg. Although he tried hard he was never able to make a go of his business.
make a hit
- be successful
eg. Her cake made a big hit at the party.
make a killing
- make a large amount of money
eg. Her mother made a killing on the real estate market before she retired.
make a living
- earn enough money to live
eg. He cannot make a living by only doing a part-time job.
make a mistake
- make an error
eg. He made a mistake on the math test.
make a mountain out of a molehill
- make a big problem out of a small one
eg. He is really making a mountain out of a molehill by worrying about his son`s problems.
make a name for oneself
- become well-known or famous
eg. He has made a name for himself in the field of computers.
make a pass at someone
- make romantic advances to a member of the opposite sex
eg. He was fired because he made a pass at one of the women who he works with.
make a point of
- do or say something with a definite intent
eg. He always makes a point of visiting his aunt when he is in town.
make a run for it
- dash for safety, make a speedy escape
eg. He made a run for it as soon as the class finished.
make away with
- take, carry away
eg. The cat made away with the fish that was sitting on top of the kitchen counter.
make believe
- act as if something is true while one knows that it is not, pretend
eg. The children were playing make believe and pretended that they lived in a castle.
make do with something
- substitute one thing for another
eg. If there is no cream for the coffee, we`ll have to make do with milk.
make ends meet
- be able to live on the money one has
eg. It`s hard to make ends meet on his salary.
make eyes at
- flirt, look at a member of the opposite sex to try and attract them
eg. The boy was making eyes at the girl in his history class.
make for
- go toward, start in the direction of
eg. As soon as it began to become dark we decided to make for a quiet place to set up a camp.
make friends
- form friendships with people or animals
eg. She is shy and isn`t able to make friends easily.
make fun of
- ridicule
eg. The students were making fun of the girl with the short hair.
make good
- do what one promised to do, make something come true
eg. He made good on his promise to give everyone a raise in the new year.
make hay while the sun shines
- do something at the right time, not wait too long
eg. You should make hay while the sun shines and paint the house while the weather is good.
make it up to someone
- do something for someone to compensate for an unfulfilled promise or debt
eg. I can`t go with you to the game tonight but I will make it up to you later.
make light of
- treat as of little importance, minimize
eg. My friend made light of my efforts to learn how to speak and write Chinese.
make of something
- interpret, think of
eg. What do you make of the new manager in accounting.
make merry
- have fun, laugh and celebrate
eg. We decided to go to a nice restaurant and make merry for the evening.
make no bones about something
- make no secret, not keep from talking about something
eg. He has made no bones about the fact that he is not interested in applying for the supervisor`s job.
make one`s bed and lie in it
- be responsible for what one has done and then have to accept the bad results
eg. You quit your job and now you have no money. You made your bed. Now you must lie in it.
make one`s blood boil
- make someone very angry
eg. Every time that I see him he makes my blood boil.
make one`s hair stand on end
- frighten, horrify
eg. The horror movie that we rented last week really made my hair stand on end.
make one`s own way
- rely on one`s own abilities
eg. His father wants him to join the family business but he wants to make his own way in the world.
make one`s mouth water
- want to eat something because of the thought or smell of the food
eg. Looking at the menu made my mouth water.
make oneself at home
- act as if you were at home
eg. She is able to make herself at home when she goes to visit her friends.
make oneself felt
- use one`s authority
eg. He was not able to make himself felt when trying to resolve the conflict.
make oneself scarce
- leave quickly, go away
eg. I think that I will make myself scarce and go to the beach for the day.
make out
- do, progress
eg. How did you make out at your job interview yesterday?
make over
- make something look different, change the style of
eg. We decided to make over our living room because we were tired of the old style.
make room for someone or something
- arrange space for
eg. He made room for the new computer in the spare room.
make sense
- seem reasonable
eg. His proposal makes absolutely no sense.
make short work of something
- finish quickly
eg. He made short work of the typing and has started working on the other documents.
make something out
- manage to see or read something
eg. I was unable to make out the sign because I didn`t have my glasses.
make something up
- invent (a story etc.)
eg. He made up the story about his lost wallet.
make the best of
- do as well as possible in a bad situation
eg. He has really made the best of his time since beginning his new job.
make the grade
- make good, succeed, meet a standard, qualify
eg. He wasn`t able to make the grade and join the football team.
make the most of
- use to the greatest advantage
eg. He made the most of his time in Europe and visited many art galleries.
make the scene
- be present, go to a certain place or event
eg. He decided to make the scene and go to the disco for the evening.
make time
- be successful in arriving at a destination in a short time
eg. We made very good time yesterday and arrived home before it got dark.
make up
- make something by putting things or parts together
eg. A car is made up of many different parts.
make up for something
- compensate for a loss or mistake
eg. I have to work hard in order to make up for the loss from the poor sales.
make up one`s mind
- decide
eg. I haven`t made up my mind yet about whether or not I will accept the new job.
make waves
- create a disturbance
eg. He is very calm and quiet at work and doesn`t like to make waves.
make way
- stand aside, move so someone can go through
eg. The truck had to go to the side of the road to make way for the ambulance.
make a mountain out of a molehill
- make something that is unimportant seem important
eg. You are making a mountain out of a molehill with your going on and on about his mistake.
make a go of
- produce good results, succeed
eg. Although he works very hard in his small business he has been unable to make a go of it and may soon go out of business.
make eyes at
- try to attract someone, flirt
eg. The woman in the restaurant is always making eyes at the customers who she likes.
make a beeline for
- go in a straight line
eg. Whenever he goes to a football game he always makes a beeline for the food stand.
make one`s mouth water
- look or smell very good, want to eat or drink very much
eg. The restaurant is supposed to be wonderful and every time that I see the menu it makes my mouth water.
make head or tail of something (usually negative)
- find meaning in , understand
eg. I was unable to make head nor tail of our company's plans to restructure our department.
make one`s mouth water
- look or smell very good, make one want to eat or drink something one sees or smells
eg. The smell of the fish cooking in the restaurant made my mouth water.
make up one`s mind
- choose what to do, decide
eg. I have still not been able to make up my mind as to whether or not to return to school.
make a bundle
- make a lot of money
eg. I made a bundle on the stock market and have since bought a house.
make a killing
- make a large amount of money
eg. My sister made a killing when she worked overseas in the oil industry.
make a living
- earn enough money to live
eg. If you want to make a good living it is necessary to get a good education.
make ends meet
- have enough money to pay one`s bills
eg. I have been having trouble making ends meet because the rent for my apartment is too high.
make money hand over fist
- fast and in large amounts
eg. My cousin has been making money hand over fist with her business.
man in the street
- the average or ordinary person
eg. According to what the man in the street is saying the government is not very popular.
man-to-man
- frank or direct
eg. I had a man-to-man talk with him about the problem last night.
mark time
- move one`s feet up and down to music
eg. He was marking time to the music as he was driving his car.
matter
- be important
eg. It doesn`t matter if you can`t come here tomorrow.
matter of course
- the usual way, habit, rule
eg. It was done as a matter of course and nobody really thought about the results.
matter of fact
- something that is really true, something that can be proved
eg. As a matter of fact I saw him last night and he asked me how you were.
matter-of-fact
- simply telling or showing the truth, seeming not to care much
eg. The witness told about the murder in a matter-of-fact way.
mean business
- be serious, ready to take action
eg. He is working very hard and really means business when he says he is going to get the office organized.
measure up
- be equal, be of high quality
eg. The new accounting manager didn`t measure up to the previous one so we had to ask him to leave.
meet someone half-way
- make a compromise with someone
eg. He is very stubborn and is never willing to meet his friends half-way.
meet up with
- meet by accident, come upon without planning or expecting to
eg. He met up with a nice group of people in Australia when he was travelling there.
melt in one`s mouth
- taste very good, be delicious
eg. The pastry that she made melted in my mouth.
mend one`s fences
- do something to make people like you after a fight, strengthen one`s friendship or influence
eg. I made a big effort to mend my fences with my boss so that we could work together effectively.
mend one`s ways
- improve one`s habits
eg. She has been forced to mend her ways in order to get along better at work.
mess around
- play around, engage in idle activity
eg. The children were messing around in the school yard before the class began.
mess up
- cause trouble, spoil something
eg. He messed up his chance to get a promotion by not making much of an effort last year.
middle of the road
- being halfway between two different ideas, seeing good on both sides of an issue
eg. The president was elected because he was a person whose ideas were very middle of the road.
might as well
- be somewhat preferable
eg. We might as well go home now. I don`t think he will come.
mind one`s P`s and Q`s
- be very careful about what one does or says
eg. You should mind your P`s and Q`s and not say anything to offend your aunt.
miss out on
- lose an opportunity
eg. He missed out on the new job because he was late for the interview.
miss the boat
- lose an opportunity
eg. You had better hurry and get your application in or you will miss the boat on entering that new company.
mix up
- confuse, make a mistake about
eg. He mixed up the video tapes and played the wrong one in front of the class.
mix-up
- an error, some confusion
eg. There was a mix-up at the airline ticket counter and I was given the wrong ticket.
money to burn
- have very much money, have more than is needed
eg. He has money to burn and never has to worry about working.
monkey business
- comical or silly actions, goofing off
eg. The kids were involved in some kind of monkey business. That was when the window was broken.
more and more
- increasingly, increasing number
eg. More and more people are buying computers for their homes.
more or less
- somewhat, to some extent
eg. I like the new color more or less but it`s not great.
more the merrier
- the more people who join in the fun the better it will be
eg. The more the merrier he said as his sister`s friends also decided to come to the beach.
morning after (the night before)
- a hangover
eg. He`s not feeling well. I think it`s the morning after the night before.
move heaven and earth
- try every way, do everything one can
eg. I will move heaven and earth to help you get a job with our company.
move in on
- take over something that belongs to another
eg. He was angry because the other salesman was moving in on his sales territory.
mum`s the word
- say nothing of the secret you know
eg. Don`t worry mum`s the word on the party. I won`t tell anybody.
musical chairs
- the transfer of a number of officers in an organization into different jobs - especially each other`s jobs
eg. They seem to be playing a game of musical chairs at the company as many people move from one position to another position.
music to one`s ears
- something one likes to hear
eg. When he told me that I could go to the sales convention in the summer it was music to my ears.
my goodness (my God)
- used to express surprise or shock etc.
eg. "My goodness," she said when she saw the small dog jump over the fence.
(can`t) make head nor tail of something
- understand, find meaning in something
eg. We couldn`t make head nor tail of what he was trying to say during his speech.
(get or become) mixed up
- become confused
eg. He gets all mixed up when he tries to speak French.
(not) move a muscle
- don`t move even a small amount
eg. The doctor told him not to move a muscle when he was fixing his leg.
Last Update: 2005/12/18