[matter-of-fact]{adj.} 1. Simply telling or showing the truth; not explaining or telling more. •/The newspaper gave a matter-of-fact account of the murder trial./ 2. Showing little feeling or excitement or trouble; seeming not to care much. •/When Mary’s father died she acted in a very matter-of-fact way./ •/He was a very matter-of-fact person./

[matter of opinion]{n. phr.} Something that may or may not be true; something that people do not all agree on. •/Whether or not he was a good general is a matter of opinion./ Compare: MATTER OF FACT.

[matter of record]{n. phr.} A fact or event that is kept officially as a legal record. •/If you are convicted of speeding it becomes a matter of record./ •/A birth certificate or a marriage license is a matter of record./

[may] See: BE THAT AS IT MAY, COME WHAT MAY, LET THE CHIPS FALL WHERE THEY MAY.

[M.C.] or [emcee] {v.} To act as master of ceremonies at a show. •/The famous actor emceed the entire television show./

[me] See: DEAR ME, PICK-ME-UP, SO HELP ME.

[mean business]{v. phr.}, {informal} To decide strongly to do what you plan to do; really mean it; be serious. •/The boss said he would fire us if we didn’t work harder and he means business./ •/When she went to college to study, she meant business./ •/He just liked the company of the other girls he dated, but this time he seems to mean business./

[means] See: BY ALL MEANS, BY MEANS OF, BY NO MEANS, WAYS AND MEANS.

[means to an end]{n. phr.} An action leading to some end or purpose. •/Money for him was just a means to an end; actually he wanted power./

[mean well]{v. phr.} To have good intentions. •/Fred generally means well, but he has a tendency to be tactless./

[measure] See: BEYOND MEASURE, FOR GOOD MEASURE, MADE-TO-MEASURE, TAKE ONE’S MEASURE or TAKE THE MEASURE OF.

[measure off]{v. phr.} To mark by measuring. •/She measured off three yards with which to make the new dress./

[measure up]{v.} To be equal; be of fully high quality; come up. •/John didn’t measure up to the best catchers but he was a good one./ •/Lois' school work didn’t measure up to her ability./ Compare up: TO PAR. Contrast: FALL SHORT.

[meatball]{n.}, {slang} A dull, boring, slow-witted, or uninteresting person. •/You’ll never get an interesting story out of that meatball — stop inviting him./

[medicine] See: TAKE ONE’S MEDICINE.

[medium] See: STRIKE A HAPPY MEDIUM.

[meet] See: MAKE ENDS MEET.

[meet halfway] See: GO HALFWAY.

[meeting] See: BEST BIB AND TUCKER or SUNDAY-GO-TO-MEETING CLOTHES.

[meet one’s death]{v. phr.} To die. •/Algernon met his death in a car accident./

[meet one’s eye]{v. phr.} To be in plain view or come into plain view; appear clearly or obviously. •/When John rounded the bend, a clear blue lake met his eye./ •/On a first reading the plan looked good, but there was more to it than met the eye./

[meet one’s match]{v. phr.} To encounter someone as good as oneself. •/The champion finally met his match and lost the game./

[meet one’s Waterloo]{v. phr.} To be defeated; lose an important contest. •/After seven straight victories the team met its Waterloo./ •/John fought instead of running, and the bully met his Waterloo./ (After Napoleon’s final defeat at Waterloo.)

[meet up with]{v. phr.} To meet by accident; come upon without planning or expecting to. •/When he ran around the tree, Bob suddenly meet up with a large bear./ •/The family would have arrived on time, but they met up with a flat tire./

[meet with]{v.} 1. To meet (someone), usually by accident. •/In the woods he met with two strangers./ Syn.: COME UPON. 2. To meet together, usually by plan; join; have a meeting with. •/The two scouts met with the officers to talk about plans for the march./ 3. To experience (as unhappiness); suffer (as bad luck); have (as an accident or mishap). •/The farmer met with misfortune; his crops were destroyed by a storm./ •/The traveler met with an accident on the road./

[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./