| macadam : asphalt pavement. "He scraped his knee on the macadam when he fell down." |
| made off with : stole "Hey, who made off wit that bucket? |
| mango : green bell pepper. To the rest of the world, a mango is a tropical fruit. In the Coal Region, a mango is a green pepper. I don't know why this is. "Run upda Ack-a-me and get me some mangoes. I'm makin' spaghetti sauce." |
| Marncarmel, Marntcarmel : Mount Carmel, another Region town, near Ashland |
| mays-well : might as well |
| me : my. "Hey, that's me hat!" |
| meat man : a local butcher who sold meat and meat products from the back of a truck equipped with cutting block and refrigerated cases. Some well-known meat men were Link's out of Shenandoah; Cyril Karvois from Girardville. |
| meer or meera : mirror. Pronounced like the Russian space station. "Meer, meer on da wall, who's da pri-ee-ust a'dem all?" |
| melk : milk. "Run down da store and get me a quart'a melk." |
| minced ham : bologna. |
| minchia: (pronounced "mink-ya") An exclamation. This is an Italian word, sometimes vulgar, meaning "penis". From the Latin "mentula", or "little mint" (menta), a fast-growing sprig. Sometimes combined as "Minchia-Louis" (Loo-ie). What does the "Louis" part mean? "Minchia - what was the coach thinking when he called that play?!" |
|
|
| Mischief Night : night before Halloween when kids soap windows, throw corn, etc. |
| mischiefin(g) : the act of soaping windows, etc. that takes place around Halloween. "Do yiz wanna go out mischeiffin?" |
| Mockanoy City, Monnoy City : Mahanoy City, the next town over from Chendo (going east). |
| mott, motts: moth, moths. "Oh no! Da motts got to my good suit and now it's fulla holes!" |
| mout : mouth. "Shut yer mout 'er I'll shut it for ya!" |
| Moxie : a soft drink that was popular in the coal region, probably in the 1940's. Contains Gentian root, and tastes like a cross between root beer or sarsparilla and brown cough syrup. I've heard you can still buy this from Catawissa Bottling Company. |
| mozhee : a hard candy made of molasses, always home made. No one knows the real spelling or derivation, but everyone says it's spelt "M-O-Zhee-Y" or "M-O-Zhee-Zhee-Y". Q: Where does "zhee" appear in the alphabet? A: Right after "haitch"! See recipe. "Mozhee apples" were candy coated apples on a stick, though I think these were coated with caramel, not mozhee. It just looked like mozhee. |
| mullygrub : tadpole |
| muskeetas : mosquitos. "Close the door! Da motts and muskeetas will get in!" |
| my story : one's favorite soap opera. "I gotta go. My story is comin' on." |
| my-un : belonging to me. "That's not yours, that's my-un." |
|