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macadam :
asphalt pavement.
"He scraped his knee on the macadam when he fell down."
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made off with :
stole
"Hey, who made off wit that
bucket?
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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."
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Marncarmel, Marntcarmel :
Mount Carmel, another Region
town, near Ashland
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mays-well :
might as well
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me :
my.
"Hey, that's me hat!"
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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.
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meer or meera :
mirror. Pronounced like the
Russian space station.
"Meer, meer on da wall, who's da pri-ee-ust a'dem all?"
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melk :
milk.
"Run down da store and get me a quart'a
melk."
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minced ham :
bologna.
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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?!"
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Mischief Night :
night before Halloween when kids
soap windows, throw corn, etc.
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mischiefin(g) :
the act of soaping windows, etc. that
takes place around Halloween.
"Do yiz wanna go out mischeiffin?"
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Mockanoy City, Monnoy City :
Mahanoy City, the next
town over from Chendo (going east).
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mott, motts:
moth, moths.
"Oh no! Da motts got to my good suit and now it's fulla holes!"
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mout :
mouth.
"Shut yer mout 'er I'll shut it for
ya!"
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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.
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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.
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mullygrub :
tadpole
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muskeetas :
mosquitos.
"Close the door! Da motts and muskeetas will get in!"
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my story :
one's favorite soap opera.
"I gotta go. My story is comin' on."
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my-un :
belonging to me.
"That's not yours, that's
my-un."
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