Mad as a March hare: very angry, from early in the century.
Make a die: to die.
- 1825: I wonder [the dog] didn't go mad; or make a die of it. John Neal, Brother Jonathan, p.398
- 1845: They said Billy was gwine to make a die of it, and had sent for Lem. W.T. Thompson, Chronicles of Pineville, p. 72
- 1848: I'm afraid I'm going to make a die of it. I'm going to create a vacancy. Stray Subjects, p.195
Man alive: popular exclamation expressing surprise, shock, etc.; alt., "sakes alive".
- 1840: Man alive! What do you put yourself in such a plaguy passion for? Mrs. Kirkland, A New Home, p.168
- 1845: Man alive! I never heard of sich a audacious perceedin'in my life. This town's got a monstrous bad name for meanery and shecoonery of all sorts, but I never know'd they 'low'd pirates here before. W.T. Thompson, Chronicles of Pineville, p.47
Mind, have a: to have a notion; to be willing.
- 1803: He, having a mind to coax the dog to stay with him, took a piece of bread. Massachusetts Spy, March 2
- 1829: If they have a mind to take the trouble, let them tell fourty lies a week. Massachusetts Spy, January 28
- 1830: I s'pose a Governor has a right to flog anybody he's a mind to. Seba Smith, Major Jack Downing, p.87
- 1878: Well, figger it as you're a mind to; maybe you'll die of somethin' else after all. Rose T. Cooke, Happy Dodd, ch. XII
Mitten, to get or give the: a lady, in turning down a proposal, is said to give the gentleman the mitten.
- 1838: Young gentlemen who have got the mitten, and young gentlemen who think they are going to get the mitten, always sythe [sigh]. Joseph C. Neal, Petter Ploddy, p. 14
- 1853: Uncle Jo's gal gin him the mitten, to the singing school. Turnover, A Tale of New Harnpshire, p.8
- 1855: He went off suddenly to California; likely enough, Kitty gave him the mitten. D.G. Mitchell, Fudge Doings, p.116
Mosey: to saunter or shuffle along.
- 1836: You're not going to smoke me. So mosey off. Philadelphia Public Ledger, December 2
- 1846: Mosey in and be sworn. A Quarter Race in Kentucky, p.38
- 1888: A third moseyed off some distance, to sit down and lick his wounds. Chicago Inter-ocean, February 6
Most: used for almost.
- 1815: Dorothy vows she will heat some water and scald any man that comes for any further taxes. I'm most afraid to see a stranger ride up. Massachusetts Spy, June 14
- 1830: I'm plagued most to death with these ere pesky sore eyes. Massachusetts Spy, October 13
- 1840: I reckon he drank most two quarts of [catmint tea] through the night. A.B. Longstreet, Georgia Scenes, p.193
Mought, mout: used for might, especially in Philadelphia, where Cockneyisms (see entry) were popular.
- 1843: It was about two o'clock, he guessed it mought be more, or it mought be less. Cornelius Mathews, Writings, p.14
- 1848: You mought as well look for a needle in a haystack, as try to find a nigger in New York. Majorjones, Sketches of Travel, p.12
- 1855: The reglar Fakilty mout have save life, then agin they mout not. Knickerbocker Magazine, March
Mudsill: the uneducated, working class.
- 1858: States as the mudsills of society, as a pauper banditti, as greasy mechanics and filthy operatives. Mr. Julian, Indiana, Home of Reps., Congressional Globe, January 14, P.328
- 1862: In all social systems there must be a class to do the menial duties, to perform the drudgery of life. That is, a class requiring but a low order of intellect and but little skill.... It constitutes the very mudsill of society and of political government. Mr. Hammond, South Carolina, U.S. Senate, Congressional Globe, March 4, p.71
- 1863: It pleased certain Southern orators and writers to characterize [the North] as the abode of the mudsills and tinkers. O.J. Victor, History of the Southern Rebellion, p.93
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