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Lush vs Mush - What's the difference?

lush | mush |

In intransitive terms the difference between lush and mush

is that lush is to drink liquor to excess while mush is to walk, especially across the snow with dogs.

In transitive terms the difference between lush and mush

is that lush is to drink (liquor) to excess while mush is to notch, cut, or indent (cloth, etc.) with a stamp.

As an adjective lush

is lax; slack; limp; flexible.

As an interjection mush is

a directive given (usually to dogs or a horse) to start moving, or to move faster.

lush

English

(wikipedia lush)

Etymology 1

From (etyl) . Related to (m). More at (l), (l).

Adjective

(er)
  • (obsolete) Lax; slack; limp; flexible.
  • (dialectal) Mellow; soft; (of ground or soil) easily turned.
  • (of vegetation) Dense, teeming with life.
  • * 2006 , Stefani Jackenthal, New York Times
    • Some of the world’s best rain forest and volcanic hiking can be found within the lush canopied Caribbean trail systems. Chock-full of waterfalls and hot springs, bright-colored birds and howling monkeys, flora-lined trails cut through thick, fragrant forests and up cloud-covered mountains.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-01
    • , author=Nancy Langston , title=The Fraught History of a Watery World , volume=101, issue=1, page=59 , magazine= citation , passage=European adventurers found themselves within a watery world, a tapestry of streams, channels, wetlands, lakes and lush riparian meadows enriched by floodwaters from the Mississippi River.}}
  • (slang, of food) Luxuriant, delicious.
    • That meal was lush ! We have to go that restaurant again sometime!
  • (British, slang) Beautiful, sexy.
    • Boys with long hair are lush !
  • (British, Canada, slang) Amazing, cool, fantastic, wicked.
    • Your voice is lush , Lucy! I could listen to it all day!
    Related terms
    * lushly * lushness * luscious

    Etymology 2

    Perhaps a humorous use of the preceding word, or perhaps from (etyl) .An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English (ISBN 0486122867)

    Noun

    (es)
  • (pejorative) Drunkard, sot, alcoholic.
  • Intoxicating liquor.

    • Verb

    (es)
  • To drink liquor to excess.
  • To drink (liquor) to excess.
    • Derived terms
    * lushing * lusher

    References

    Anagrams

    * (l)

    mush

    English

    Etymology 1

    Probably a variant of mash, or from a dialectal variant of (etyl) mos . See also .

    Noun

    (mushes)
  • (uncountable) A mess, often of food; a soft or semisolid substance.
    • Mom said to add the potatoes to the mush .

    Verb

  • To squish so as to break into smaller pieces or to combine with something else.
    • He mushed the ingredients together.

    Derived terms

    * apple-mush * mushy

    See also

    * mash * moosh

    Etymology 2

    Simple contraction of mushroom.

    Noun

    (mushes)
  • (Quebecois English, slang) magic mushrooms
    • Synonyms
    * shroom (slang)

    Etymology 3

    From (etyl) muos and (etyl) , or any thick preparation of fruit.

    Noun

    (-)
  • A food comprising cracked or rolled grains cooked in water or milk; porridge.
  • (rural USA) cornmeal cooked in water and served as a porridge or as a thick sidedish like grits or mashed potatoes.

    • Etymology 4

    Believed to be a contraction of mush on, in turn a corruption of (etyl) , the cry of the voyageurs and coureurs de bois to their dogs.

    Interjection

    (en interjection)
  • A directive given (usually to dogs or a horse) to start moving, or to move faster.
    • When the lone cowboy saw the Indians, he yelled mush , cha, giddyup!

    Noun

    (mushes)
  • A walk, especially across the snow with dogs.

    • Verb

  • To walk, especially across the snow with dogs.
  • To drive dogs, usually pulling a sled, across the snow.
  • * 1910 , Jack London,
    • Together the two men loaded and lashed the sled. They warmed their hands for the last time, pulled on their mittens, and mushed the dogs over the bank and down to the river-trail.

    Etymology 5

    From (etyl) .

    Noun

    (mushes)
  • (British, primarily Southern England, slang) A form of address to a man.
  • :* "'Oy, mush ! Get out of it!'
    That's what we'd say
    Barging the locals
    Out of the way"
    — MAUREEN AND DOREEN AND NOREEN AND ME'', ''Peculiar Poems , [http://www.jclamb.com/]
  • :* "When I'm around it's not uncommon for someone to call me and say :'Oy mush , get your bum over here and give us a hand.'" — THE ONCE AND FUTURE KING: In Which King Arthur Uther Pendragon Grants An Interview [http://arthurpendragon.ukonline.co.uk/arthur.html]
  • (British, primarily Northern England, slang) The face
  • :* "My ugly mush finally found its way onto the www, but not in the manner to which I deserved." — [http://owlfarm.pmgr.net/aspen/hst16.htm]
  • :* 2002:"I grew my face fungus to cover up an ugly mush ." — [http://www.maggotdrowning.com/forum/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=809]
  • :* "and your bird has an ugly mush " — [http://b3ta.com/board/archive/21323/]
    • Synonyms
    * (form of address to a man) mate (UK), pal (especially US) * (the face) mug

    References

    * Take Our Word for It Issue 101, accessed on 2005-05-09

    Etymology 6

    Compare (etyl) .

    Verb

  • To notch, cut, or indent (cloth, etc.) with a stamp.

    • Anagrams

    * English heteronyms English intransitive verbs English terms with multiple etymologies ----