muck

muck¹ [mʌk] n [U] informal

[Date: 1200-1300; Origin: Probably from a Scandinavian language]

1.) dirt, mud, or another sticky substance that makes something dirty

▪ Come on, let's wipe that muck off your face.

2.) BrE waste matter from animals, sometimes put on land to make plants grow better

= ↑manure

▪ special machinery for spreading muck onto the fields

▪ dog muck

3.) BrE something that is unpleasant or of very bad quality

▪ How can you eat that muck? It looks disgusting.

▪ I'm not surprised she left. He treated her like muck (=very badly) .

4.) make a muck of sth

BrE informal to do something very badly and make a lot of mistakes

= ↑muck up

▪ I really made a muck of the exam.

5.) as common as muck

BrE informal very common or of a low social class

muck ²

muck² v

muck about/around phr v

1.) to behave in a silly way, especially when you should be working or paying attention to something

= ↑mess around

▪ Stop mucking about and listen!

▪ Some of the boys were mucking around on bikes in the middle of the road.

2.) muck sb about/around

to cause trouble for someone, especially by changing your mind a lot or not doing what you promised to do

= ↑mess somebody around

▪ The company kept mucking us around and changing the price.

muck in phr v

1.) to do your share of the work that is necessary in order to get a job done

▪ If we all muck in, we could get the whole house painted by the end of the week.

2.) to share space with other people

muck in with

▪ There are only three bedrooms. Do you mind mucking in with the other boys?

muck out [muck sth<=>out] phr v

to clean the place where a farm animal lives

▪ You have to muck out the stables every day in the winter.

muck up [muck sth<=>up] phr v

1.) BrE to do something badly, so that you fail to achieve something

= ↑mess up

▪ I really mucked up my driving test first time.

2.) to spoil something, especially an arrangement or plan

= ↑mess up

▪ The bad weather mucked up our plans for a picnic.

3.) BrE to make something dirty

= ↑mess up

▪ Who's mucked up the carpet in here?