mincen.int.
/mɪns/, U.S. /mɪns/ 1. Minced meat, esp. minced beef or lamb; any ingredient chopped, etc., into small pieces. Also: = mincemeat n. 1b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > animals for food > cut or piece of meat > [noun] > minced meat
minced meat1578
mincemeat1630
collopa1665
mincea1850
1804 J. Workman Liberty in Louisiana (ed. 2) i. 11 A little turtle-soup, a stewed rock-fish, a haunch of Kentucky venison, a mince of rice-birds' breasts and a marrow pudding.
1845 E. Acton Mod. Cookery viii. 234 If the meat in a hash or mince be allowed to boil, it will immediately become hard.
1846 C. E. Francatelli Mod. Cook 309 Croquettes of Fowl and Mushrooms. The mince for these is prepared in the same way as for Kromeskys.
a1850 D. G. Rossetti Dante & Circle (1874) ii. 274 Then let them hew me to such mince As a man's limbs may make.
1869 H. B. Stowe Oldtown Folks xxvii. 338 ‘We children’ were employed in chopping mince for pies.
1899 O. Seaman In Cap & Bells (1900) 84 Those pies at which you annually wince, Hearing the tale how happy months will follow Proportioned to the total mass of mince You swallow.
1907 G. A. Escoffier Guide Mod. Cookery i. viii. 89 The name ‘Chiffonade’ is given to a mince of sorrel or lettuce, intended as a complement for..soups.
1945 A. L. Simon Conc. Encycl. Gastron. VII. 107/2 Sarmalas. Rub a little garlic on some raw beef and mince the beef with a little ham, a scrap of onion, parsley and other seasonings. Dip some spinach or young vine leaves in hot water and roll up the mince in them... Braise very slowly.
1961 Buchan Observer 12 Dec. ‘Minch!’ was the order of the day.
1996 Daily Record (Glasgow) (Electronic ed.) 25 June From now on, it'll be mince and tatties, mince and doughballs, mince pies, spaghetti and mince, curried mince.
2. An instance of mincing speech; a mincing walk.Richardson ( Encycl. Metrop., a1832) includes a quotation from William Alexander, Earl of Stirling's Paraenesis to Prince Henry (rev. ed., 1637) apparently illustrating the noun mince, at his entry covering related verbal uses of the word. He does not refer to the noun, and the cited example is in fact a misprint for minde in the original. This has been taken as the origin of later dictionary references to this sense.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > ornateness > [noun] > studied prettiness of style
prettiness1610
prettyism1789
mince1885
1885 Cassell's Encycl. Dict. V. i. 46/2 Mince, affected manner.
1897 G. B. Shaw in Sat. Rev. 17 Apr. 411/1 Stage smart speech, which, like the got-up Oxford mince and drawl of a foolish curate, is the mark of a snob.
1963 J. Fowles Collector i. 17 She always wore flat heels so she didn't have that mince like most girls.
3. [Short for mince pie n. 3, rhyming slang for eye n.1] British. An eye; = mince pie n. 3. Usually in plural.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > eye > [noun]
eyeeOE
the fleshly eyec1175
balla1400
window1481
glazier1567
light1580
crystal1592
orb1594
glass1597
optic1601
twinkler1605
lampa1616
watchera1616
wink-a-peeps1615
visive organa1652
ogle1673
peeper1691
goggle?1705
visual orb1725
orbit1727
winker1734
peep?1738
daylights?1747
eyewinker1808
keeker1808
glimmer1814
blinker1816
glim1820
goggler1821
skylight1824
ocular1825
mince pie1857
saucer1858
mince1937
1937 ‘J. Curtis’ There ain't no Justice 129 If I get my minces on the bastard again I'll break him in half.
1958 F. Norman Bang to Rights 149 ‘I know what's on there’ said the boggie looking Solie straight in the minces.
1960 News Chron. 16 Feb. 6/5 She gives me a double glinty butchers out of those sharp minces of hers.
1962 R. Cook Crust on its Uppers (1964) iii. 28 ‘One pack dealer's choice’, he says, minces all gleaming.
1991 Viz Dec. 32/1 Listen to me Ernie—get out of the smoke while the heat's on, hole up in the sticks—keep yer minces peeled.
4. Scottish colloquial. Nonsense, rubbish. Also as int.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > nonsense, rubbish > [noun]
magged talea1387
moonshine1468
trumperyc1485
foolishness1531
trash1542
baggage1545
flim-flam1570
gear1570
rubbisha1576
fiddle-faddle1577
stuff1579
fible-fable1581
balductum1593
pill1608
nonsense1612
skimble-skamble1619
porridge1642
mataeology1656
fiddle-come-faddle1663
apple sauce1672
balderdash1674
flummery1749
slang1762
all my eye1763
diddle-daddle1778
(all) my eye (and) Betty Martin1781
twaddle1782
blancmange1790
fudge1791
twiddle-twaddle1798
bothering1803
fee-faw-fum1811
slip-slop1811
nash-gab1816
flitter-tripe1822
effutiation1823
bladderdash1826
ráiméis1828
fiddlededee1843
pickles1846
rot1846
kelter1847
bosh1850
flummadiddle1850
poppycock1852
Barnum1856
fribble-frabble1859
kibosh1860
skittle1864
cod1866
Collyweston1867
punk1869
slush1869
stupidness1873
bilge-water1878
flapdoodle1878
tommyrot1880
ruck1882
piffle1884
flamdoodle1888
razzmatazz1888
balls1889
pop1890
narrischkeit1892
tosh1892
footle1894
tripe1895
crap1898
bunk1900
junk1906
quatsch1907
bilge1908
B.S.1912
bellywash1913
jazz1913
wash1913
bullshit?1915
kid-stakes1916
hokum1917
bollock1919
bullsh1919
bushwa1920
noise1920
bish-bosh1922
malarkey1923
posh1923
hooey1924
shit1924
heifer dust1927
madam1927
baloney1928
horse feathers1928
phonus-bolonus1929
rhubarb1929
spinach1929
toffeea1930
tomtit1930
hockey1931
phoney baloney1933
moody1934
cockalorum1936
cock1937
mess1937
waffle1937
berley1941
bull dust1943
crud1943
globaloney1943
hubba-hubba1944
pish1944
phooey1946
asswipe1947
chickenshit1947
slag1948
batshit1950
goop1950
slop1952
cack1954
doo-doo1954
cobbler1955
horse shit1955
nyamps1955
pony1956
horse manure1957
waffling1958
bird shit1959
codswallop1959
how's your father1959
dog shit1963
cods1965
shmegegge1968
pucky1970
taradiddle1970
mouthwash1971
wank1974
gobshite1977
mince1985
toss1990
arse1993
1985 M. Munro Patter 46 Yer heid's full a mince.
1992 I. Pattison More Rab C. Nesbitt Scripts 180 Don't talk mince!
1992 J. Torrington Swing Hammer Swing! xxxvi. 329 ‘Mince,’ said the one who'd the air of a leader about'm. ‘The Ruskies have one.’
1995 Scotl. on Sunday (Nexis) 1 Oct. 20 Matt actually wished to call it the Shite-for-Brains award, but the Express..went for the less rude..‘mince’.
2000 Guardian 4 Sept. (Media section) 5/3 All copy was ‘mince’ until Martin had improved it... There was no job at the Scotsman that Martin could not do better than the person he employed to do it.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
mincev.
/mɪns/, U.S. /mɪns/α. Middle English mence, Middle English myncy, Middle English–1500s mynce, Middle English–1500s mynse, 1500s–1600s minse, 1500s– mince, 1600s mins (in compounds), 1600s minze.
β. Middle English menche, Middle English mynsh, 1500s– minch (now English regional), 1800s– minsh (English regional); also Scottish pre-1700 menche, pre-1700 mensche, pre-1700 minche, pre-1700 minsch, pre-1700 mynsch.
1. † b. transitive. To carve (a plover). Obsolete.
a. transitive. To cut up or grind (food, esp. meat) into very small pieces, now typically in a machine with revolving blades; †to cut up (tobacco) (obsolete). Also (occasionally) intransitive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation for table or cooking > preparation of meat > dress animals for food [verb (transitive)] > cut into small pieces
mince1381
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > action of dividing or divided condition > division by cutting > divide by cutting [verb (transitive)] > cut into pieces > small
mince1381
myce1381
shearc1430
morcellate1909
α.
β. c1475 in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) I. 324 For to take alle maner of byrdys..take juse of dwale and menche the corne theryn.1575 in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (1589) ii. 437 2. doozen of machetos to minch the Whale.1766 H. Brooke Fool of Quality I. vii. 292 A small joint of meat,..served us cold, hashed and minched, from one week to the other.1821 J. Galt Ayrshire Legatees viii. 222 A steam-ingine that minches minch-collops as natural as life.1881 Jamieson's Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. (new ed.) III. 279/2 To Minch, Minsh, to cut into small pieces.1381 Diuersa Servicia in C. B. Hieatt & S. Butler Curye on Inglysch (1985) 75 Nym onyons & mynce hem smale & fry hem in oyle dolyf.
a1425 (a1399) Forme of Cury (BL Add.) 15 in C. B. Hieatt & S. Butler Curye on Inglysch (1985) 100 Take oynouns and perboyle hem, and mynce hem smale.
a1450 in T. Austin Two 15th-cent. Cookery-bks. (1888) 41 (MED) Þen mence Sawge.
a1475 Liber Cocorum (Sloane) (1862) 18 Above þese herbus a lytul larde Smalle myncyd.
a1475 J. Russell Bk. Nurture (Harl. 4011) in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 142 Mynse hem [sc. partridges, etc.] smalle in þe siruppe.
1555 W. Waterman tr. J. Boemus Fardle of Facions i. 48 Rawe fleshe very finely minced.
1611 T. Middleton & T. Dekker Roaring Girle sig. C3 Shee that minces Tobacco.
1693 J. Dryden in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires xiv. 282 The least remains of which they Mince, and Dress It o're agen to make another Mess.
1726 J. Swift Gulliver I. ii. i. 17 The Wife minced a bit of Meat, then crumbled some Bread on a Trencher, and placed it before me.
a1756 E. Haywood New Present (1771) 159 Mince very fine the white of a chicken.
1812 G. Crabbe Tales vii. 128 She minc'd the sanguine flesh in frustums fine.
1863 E. C. Gaskell Sylvia's Lovers III. v. 87 The sergeant asked for pepper and salt; minced the food fine and made it savoury.
1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues I. 220 And who has to kill and skin and mince and boil and cook? The cook, I said.
1887 Spons' Househ. Man. 284 Mince the flesh of a hen lobster to the size of small dice.
1950 L. G. Green In Land of Afternoon iv. 63 Boerewors is another farm product which some still make in the old way; a sausage in which the meat has been pounded with a wooden stamper rather than minced.
1976 Beano 14 Feb. 2/2 Mince that beef.
1999 Food & Wine Apr. 52/2 On a work surface, mince the garlic with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt to make a paste.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation for table or cooking > preparation of fowls > prepare fowls [verb (transitive)] > carve > plover
mincea1450
quince1598
a1450 Terms Assoc. in PMLA (1936) 51 604 (MED) A rale y brested, a plouer y mensyde, a wodecok y thyed.
1486 Bk. St. Albans sig. fvijv A Plouer Mynsed.
1508 Bk. Keruynge (de Worde) sig. Av Wynge that quayle, mynce that plouer, thye that pygyon.
1661 W. Rabisha Whole Body Cookery 253 Mince that Plover.
1840 W. H. Ainsworth Tower of London xxxix In the old terms of his art, he leached the brawn,..minced the plovers, thighed the pigeons.
c. transitive. To chop up or grind small and cook (meat, esp. that left from a previous meal).
ΚΠ
1906 N.E.D. (at cited word) We will have the cold meat minced for dinner to-day.
2. † b. transitive. To cut or slash. Obsolete. rare.
a. transitive. In extended use. To cut up, subdivide minutely; to tear, smash, etc., to pieces. Also with up. Occasionally reflexive or intransitive. †to mince away: to erode, to nullify (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > action of dividing or divided condition > divide [verb (transitive)] > into small parts
mince?c1450
morsel1598
shred1660
comminute1836
α.
β. 1712 W. Bates Acct. Life P. Henry in Wks. (1853) II. 647/1 In his expositions, he reduced the matter of the chapter..read to some heads; not by a logical analysis, which often mincheth it too small.1827 J. Watt Poems 7 Reviewers..May minch, dissect, condemn to burn.?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) 6758 All northumbirlande prouynce He thoght as croms of brede to mynce.
1581 R. Mulcaster Positions xxxix. 191 To mince his labour so, as ech one can haue but some litle.
1639 T. Fuller Hist. Holy Warre v. xxi. 264 We will not take notice of Germanie as it is minced into pettie Principalities.
1643 Sir T. Browne Religio Medici (authorized ed.) i. §8 Nor contented with a general breach or dichotomy with their Church do subdivide and mince themselves almost into Atoms. View more context for this quotation
1689 T. Rymer View Govt. Europe 62 The Jesuits there have..minc'd away all the old remains of Morality and Conscience.
a1748 I. Watts Improvem. Mind ii. vi, in Coll. Wks. (1753) V. 347 I have always thought it a mistake in the preacher to mince his text or his subject too small, by a great number of subdivisions.
a1821 J. Keats Otho i. i, in R. M. Milnes Life, Lett. & Lit. Remains Keats (1848) II. 116 The horses' hoofs have minced it!
1853 J. B. Marsden Hist. Early Puritans (ed. 2) 244 Their [sc. the Puritans'] sermons were not studiously minced up in tiny fragments.
1930 N. Coward Private Lives i. 6 Age old instincts working away deep down, mincing up little bits of experience for future use.
1979 D. Walcott Star-apple Kingdom 13 One day this man snatch it From my hand..and start mincing me like I was some hen Because of the poems.
1992 Harrowsmith Oct. 26/1 On a small scale, a mechanical chipper/shredder might mince up the rough stuff for usable mulch.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > cutting > cut [verb (transitive)]
snithec725
carvec1000
cutc1275
slitc1275
hag1294
ritc1300
chop1362
slash1382
cut and carvea1398
flash?a1400
flish?a1400
slenda1400
race?a1425
raise?a1425
razea1425
scotch?c1425
ochec1440
slitec1450
ranch?a1525
scorchc1550
scalp1552
mincea1560
rash?1565
beslash1581
fent1589
engrave1590
nick1592
snip1593
carbonado1596
rescide1598
skice1600
entail1601
chip1609
wriggle1612
insecate1623
carbonate1629
carbonade1634
insecta1652
flick1676
sneg1718
snick1728
slot1747
sneck1817
tame1847
bite-
a1560 T. Becon Jewel of Joy in Wks. ii. 19 b Theyr dublets and hoses,..for the most parte are so mynsed cutte and iagged, that [etc.].
1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis ii. 39 Lyk on a mountayn thee tree dry wythered oaken Sliest by the clowne Coridon rusticks with twibbil, or hatchet. Then the tre deepe minced, far chopt dooth terrifye swinckers.
c. transitive. To cut (a person) up into small pieces. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > maiming or mutilation > maim or mutilate [verb (transitive)] > cut into small pieces
mince1603
the world > health and disease > healing > medical treatment > surgery > incision > make an incision in or cut [verb (transitive)] > dissect
to dissect out1864
mince1896
α.
β. 1635 T. Heywood Hierarchie Blessed Angells ii. 64 Thinking to minch me into parts and fleece Me of my right.1603 W. Shakespeare Hamlet ii. ii. 517 She saw Pirrus with malitious strokes, Mincing her husbandes limbs.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Timon of Athens (1623) iv. iii. 123 Spare not the Babe..Thinke it a Bastard..And mince it sans remorse. View more context for this quotation
1648 T. Gage Eng.-Amer. 200 Fearing that many would fall upon him cowardly and mince him small in pieces.
1742 A. Pope New Dunciad 116 Revive the Wits; But murder first, and mince them all to bits.
a1822 P. B. Shelley Cyclops in Posthumous Poems (1824) 345 He..minces their flesh and gnaws their bone With his cursed teeth.
1861 C. Reade Cloister & Hearth II. i. 11 ‘It is ill to check sleep or sweat in a sick man,’ said he. ‘I know that far, though I ne'er minced ape nor gallows-bird.’
1896 J. S. Farmer & W. E. Henley Slang IV. 319/2 Mince (medical students'), to dissect.
2000 Newsline (Karachi) Feb. 83/2 Rani..along with her two kids, aged eight years and eight months jumped before a moving train. They were minced instantly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > reduce in quantity, amount, or degree [verb (transitive)]
littleeOE
anitherOE
wanzelOE
lessc1225
slakea1300
littenc1300
aslakec1314
adminisha1325
allayc1330
settle1338
low1340
minisha1382
reprovea1382
abatea1398
rebatea1398
subtlea1398
alaskia1400
forlyten?a1400
imminish14..
lessenc1410
diminish1417
repress?a1425
assuagec1430
scarcec1440
small1440
underslakec1440
alessa1450
debate?c1450
batec1460
decreasec1470
appetisse1474
alow1494
mince1499
perswage?1504
remita1513
inless?1521
attenuate1530
weaken1530
defray1532
mitigate1532
minorate1534
narrow?1548
diminuec1550
extenuate1555
amain1578
exolve1578
base1581
dejecta1586
amoinder1588
faint1598
qualify1604
contract1605
to pull down1607
shrivel1609
to take down1610
disaugment1611
impoverish1611
shrink1628
decoct1629
persway1631
unflame1635
straiten1645
depress1647
reduce1649
detract1654
minuate1657
alloy1661
lower?1662
sinka1684
retreat1690
nip1785
to drive down1840
minify1866
to knock down1867
to damp down1869
scale1887
mute1891
clip1938
to roll back1942
to cut back1943
downscale1945
downrate1958
slim1963
downshift1972
β.
α. 1601 A. Dent Plaine Mans Path-way to Heauen 186 Howsoeuer you mince it, and blaunche it ouer.1607 J. Cowell Interpreter sig. Sss4 The fee, which is opposite to fee simple: by reason that it is so..minced, or pared, that it is not in his free power to be disposed.1646 J. Benbrigge Vsvra Accommodata 20 He that minceth his estate, doth diminish the Magistrate's Right [i.e. Taxes].1664 H. More Modest Enq. Myst. Iniquity x. 33 Let him mince it as well as he can with mental limitations and restrictions.1821 A. Scott Poems (new ed.) 53 Now sun's decline th' approach o' winter tells,..And in his course still mincing frae the day, Till days to gloamings maist were clipped away.1499 in N. Riding Rec. (1894) New Ser. I. 178 Wherby the seid wode ys mynshed and hurt.
1570 in W. Mackay & H. C. Boyd Rec. Inverness (1911) I. 195 Quhilkis personis sall sycht the vplandis meit and beiff that cummes to the mercat that the samyn be nocht menchit nor meneist.
1606 W. Birnie Blame of Kirk-buriall xix. sig. F2 Lawlesse publicans, lyke Hophnees with elcrookes to minche and not Samueles, to mense the offerings of God.
1718 Scotland's Present Circumstances 71 They minch their Rest, and sear their Dawning to be at him.
4.
a. transitive. to mince the matter: to extenuate or make light of the particular matter in question (now rare). In later use usually to mince matters (chiefly in negative contexts): to use polite or moderate expressions to indicate disapproval, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > excuse > make excuses [verb (intransitive)] > extenuate
to mince the matter1533
mince1615
the mind > language > malediction > [verb (intransitive)] > not to moderate one's language
to mince matters1841
1533 [implied in: T. More Debellacyon Salem & Bizance i. xiv. f. xcix The myncyng of suche maters. (at mincing n. 1a)].
1575 T. Churchyard 1st Pt. Chippes f. 84 v Ear he obtaind the thing he sought, howe he his tong could fiell. To talk and mince the matter well, the better to disgeast.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) ii. iii. 240 Iago, Thy honesty and loue doth mince this matter, Making it light to Cassio. View more context for this quotation
1649 Bp. J. Hall Resol. & Decisions ii. x. 209 Some Doctors..would either excuse, or mince the matter.
1668 J. Owen Nature Indwelling-sin xvii. 286 Here it [sc. the law] minceth not the matter with sinners.
1679 J. Goodman Penitent Pardoned (1713) iii. v. 335 A learned Jew endeavours to mince the matter, and to turn the story into an allegory.
1740 S. Richardson Pamela II. 82 Well, Tom, said he, don't mince the Matter. Tell me, before Mrs. Andrews, what they said.
1778 F. Burney Let. 27 Aug. in Early Jrnls. & Lett. (1994) III. 120 His determination not to mince the matter, when he thought reproof at all deserved.
1841 T. Carlyle On Heroes ii. 117 A candid ferocity, if the case call for it, is in him; he does not mince matters!
1857 W. Collins Dead Secret I. ii. ii. 99 A man's speculative view depends, not to mince the matter, on the state of his secretions.
1878 T. Hardy Return of Native III. iv. vi. 38 You mince matters to an uncommon nicety.
1891 M. Oliphant Jerusalem iv. iii. 483 Language of condemnation..made when men did not mince matters.
1948 Sunday Pictorial 18 July 12/3 I hope she and her two colleagues won't mince matters.
1982 B. Pym Unsuitable Attachment xix. 213 No point in mincing matters, it would only be like teaching somebody to swim by throwing them in the deep end.
b. transitive. More generally: to lessen or diminish in representation; to make little of, minimize; to disparage; to palliate, extenuate (faults). Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > be unimportant [verb (transitive)] > make less important or unimportant
to set at a pease, at a pie's heel, at a pin's fee1303
mincea1591
to make no matter of1604
triflea1616
to make much (also little, nothing, too much, etc.) of (or on)1632
pygmy1658
insignificate1676
minify1676
smooth1684
trivialize1846
nonentitize1903
minoritize1947
sideline1953
peripheralize1955
marginalize1970
marginate1970
deprioritize1973
society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > excuse > excuse (a person or fault) [verb (transitive)] > extenuate
whiteOE
gloze1390
colourc1400
emplasterc1405
littlec1450
polish?c1450
daub1543
plaster1546
blanch1548
flatter1552
extenuate1570
alleviate1577
soothe1587
mincea1591
soothe1592
palliate1604
sweeten1635
rarefy1637
mitigate1651
glossa1656
whitewash1703
qualify1749
a1591 H. Smith Serm. (1637) 395 Wee mince our sins as though they needed no forgivenesse.
1609 W. M. Man in Moone sig. Gv Take these precepts, which if you follow, will allay all lust..to mince and extenuate any laudable part in her, but to display and augment whatsoeuer deformity you know by her.
1639 J. Ford Ladies Triall i. sig. C4 Be gone Futelli, doe not mince one syllable Of what you heare.
a1676 M. Hale Primitive Originat. Mankind (1677) ii. vii. 186 The Author of the Dissertation..seems to mince the Universality of the Flood.
1685 J. Dryden Sylvæ Pref. sig. a3v If to mince his meaning,..I had..omitted some part of what he [sc. Lucretius] said,..I certainly had wrong'd him.
1735 J. Swift Gulliver Introd. Let., in Wks. III. ii You have either omitted some material Circumstances, or minced or changed them in such a Manner, that I do hardly know mine own Work.
1736 R. Ainsworth Thes. Linguæ Latinæ To mince or pass a thing slightly over.
1839 P. J. Bailey Festus 67 Ye see I do not mince the truth for ye.
1997 T. Mackintosh-Smith Yemen (1999) v. 131 Where There Is No Doctor—a book no hypochondriac should ever open, for its refuses [sic] to mince the strong meat of medical problems from leprosy to yaws.
c. intransitive. To prevaricate; to be reticent (in speech or writing). Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > excuse > make excuses [verb (intransitive)] > extenuate
to mince the matter1533
mince1615
1615 T. Jackson Iustifying Faith iv. ii. vi. §5 Abraham..was then rejustified not by works though not without faith, as Bellarmine minceth, but by faith without works, as the Apostle strongly and peremptorily infers.
1621 1st Bk. Discipline Church Scotl. (1641) Pref. sig. A3 Some of the Disciples..at first did mince, and sparingly speake, but afterward practise and loudly preach; that [etc.].
1668 J. Glanvill Blow at Mod. Sadducism 154 Who confidently, and without mincing, denyed that there was any such being.
1892 R. L. Stevenson & L. Osbourne Wrecker ii. 28 My aunt might mince and my cousins bridle; but there was no getting over the solid, physical fact of the stonemason in the chimney-corner.
1997 Stuff Feb. 144/1 The Rough Guide..doesn't mince about Dublin with misty romance in its eyes, so you get the low-down on where to go and where to stay the hell away from.
d. transitive. Usually in negative contexts: to moderate or restrain (one's language) so as to keep within the bounds of prudence, politeness, or decorum, esp. in phrase to mince words, and variants. Occasionally to mince it (now rare). to mince an oath: to use a euphemistic substitution for an oath; (also, occasionally) to speak an oath in an affected or refined way (cf. sense 5).In quot. a16162: to report euphemistically or palliatively (what has been said).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > speak, say, or utter [verb (transitive)] > carefully or with restraint
drib1533
mincea1616
venture1638
offer1881
the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [verb (transitive)] > euphemisms for stronger oaths > action of substituting
to mince an oath1720
the mind > language > speech > speak [verb (intransitive)] > with restraint or carefully
to weigh one's words1340
to carry one's mouth (also tongue) in one's heart?1576
to mince words1826
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) v. ii. 127 I know no wayes to mince it in loue, but directly to say, I loue you. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) i. ii. 109 Speake to me home, Mince not the generall tongue, name Cleopatra as she is call'd in Rome. View more context for this quotation
1720 J. Swift Let. to Young Poet (1721) 29 My young Master, who at first but minc'd an Oath, is Taught there to mouth it gracefully, and to Swear, as he reads French, Ore rotundo.
1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison II. vii. 112 Miss Gr. ‘Shall I give it you in plain English?’ Mr. Gr. ‘You don't use to mince it.’
1826 B. Disraeli Vivian Grey I. ii. ii. 100 I will not mince my words.
1897 S. S. Sprigge Life of T. Wakley xxxii. 294 These were hard sayings, but men did not mince their words in those days.
1919 J. Conrad Arrow of Gold v. i When I was telling her the truth about herself, mincing no words,..she used to stand smilingly bashful as if I were overwhelming her with compliments.
1960 G. W. Target Teachers (1962) 161 Would come out with the awkwardest bloody things—didn't mince words over Wilson either.
1987 Flight Internat. 10 Oct. 89/1 Without mincing words, BCal is clearly ‘bust’.
1995 Autocar 1 Mar. (Porsche Suppl.) 46/2 But let's not mince statistics; any car that will blast around Millbrook at 163.5mph..is monstrously quick.
5.
a. transitive. To utter in an affectedly refined or precise manner; to pronounce with affected elegance. Also with out.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > manner of speaking > say in a particular manner [verb (transitive)] > say in other sort of manner
rifta1400
abraida1500
rumblec1520
mince1549
roll1561
slaver1599
troll1631
yawn1718
buzz1763
gurgle1805
namby-pamby1812
sibilate1837
ripple1890
nicker1929
1549 M. Coverdale et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. II. 1 Thess. ii. f. iii We came not vnto you, with bragging..nor curiously mincing a sorte of great wordes.
1862 Mrs. H. Wood Channings II. v. 75 ‘You—are—very—kind—to—take—up—Arthur Channing's cause!’ they mince out.
1876 L. Stephen Hours in Libr. 2nd Ser. v. 157 The Frenchified fine gentleman who minced his mother tongue.
1888 Mrs. H. Ward Robert Elsmere III. vi. xliii. 255 ‘Ah—“Reculer pour mieux faire sauter!”’ said Sir John, mincing out his pun as though he loved it.
1974 U. K. Le Guin Dispossessed (1975) vii. 158 Why does she mince out her words like that?
b. intransitive. To speak with affected elegance or delicacy of pronunciation.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > manner of speaking > speak in a particular manner [verb (intransitive)] > affectedly or mincingly
knack1691
mince1807
yaw-yaw1854
1807 G. Crabbe Parish Reg. ii, in Poems 74 Low spake the Lass, and lisp'd and minc'd the while.
1847 E. Brontë Wuthering Heights I. xiii. 310 Mim! mim! mim! Did iver Christian body hear owt like it? Minching un' munching! Hah can Aw tell whet ye say?
1908 Athenæum 25 July 90/1 He read old English letters and studied old English heroes with a kind of ecstasy. He mouthed and minced with them like a true devotee.
1937 D. Thomas Let. 20 Aug. (1987) 258 I love reading poems aloud, and I do hope Mr. Maine will succeed in making the BBC interested enough to let me read some more... I wouldn't mince, anyway.
1994 J. Churchill Class Menagerie x. 88 She minced about how embarrassing it would be for everybody to know my real life and how she'd just let me think about it a while.
6.
a. intransitive. To walk with short steps and an affected preciseness or daintiness; to walk or move in an affected or effeminate manner. Frequently with adverbs, as along, around, etc. Also to mince it.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > walking > walk, tread, or step [verb (intransitive)] > affectedly with short steps
mince1562
to diminish one's walks1609
tittup1709
primp1943
1562 Jack Juggler (1820) 9 She minceth, she brideleth, she swimmeth to and fro.
1567 T. Drant tr. Horace Pistles in tr. Horace Arte of Poetrie sig. Ev Thou hast no trippinge trull To mince it with the now That thou mighst foote it vnto her As nimble as a cow.
1593 M. Drayton Idea vii. sig. G3 Now shepheards..in their Iackets minsen on the plaines.
1611 Bible (King James) Isa. iii. 16 The daughters of Zion are hautie, and walke with stretched forth necks, and wanton eyes, walking and mincing [Margin] tripping nicely as they goe, and making a tinkeling with their feet.
c1616 R. C. Certaine Poems in Times' Whistle (1871) 133 Then gan she trip it proudlie one the toe, And mince it finely vpon London streetes.
a1639 W. Whately Prototypes (1640) i. xix. 240 Mincing with ones feete, or any other affected kind of going, is an act of haughtinesse.
1736 R. Ainsworth Thes. Linguæ Latinæ To mince it in walking.
1753 S. Foote Englishman in Paris i. 16 The Men are all Puppies, mincing and dancing, and chattering.
1826 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 20 484 She..minced, and primmed, and tossed her head.
1868 L. M. Alcott Little Women I. xix. 284 It was a comical sight to see her mince along.
1914 J. M. Barrie Admirable Crichton i. 10 Holding the footstool as a tray, he minces across the room like an accomplished footman.
1968 J. Irving Setting free Bears ii. 182 Then they minced along the ice, walking the old '38 to where the bank was flattest.
1987 P. Booth Sisters vii. 74 You'll be mincing around here in a paisley shirt..going psychedelic.
1991 Gay Times Apr. 80/1 (advt.) 1 minute to the sea (depending on how quick you mince).
b. transitive. To perform, enact, or carry out in an affectedly precise or dainty manner. Occasionally reflexive: to move mincingly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > affected behaviour or affectation > perform or enact affectedly [verb (transitive)]
mince1603
1603 tr. Batchelars Banquet xi. sig. H2 Fine Dames and daintie Girles..whoe can finely mince their measures.
1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xx. 116 Behold yon simpring dame..that minces vertue, and do shake the head heare of pleasures name.
1702 C. Beaumont J. Beaumont's Psyche (new ed.) iii. clxxxii. 38 To the ground Three times she bows, and with a modest grace Minces her spruce retreat.
1801 T. Dibdin Il Bondocani iii. ii None of your wishy washy sparks that mince their steps.
1821 J. Ross Witch of Dean in Peep at Parnassus 17 [The witch] Could mince a minua on mist! Or caper on a cloud!
1885 Cent. Mag. July 380/1 With tears in his eyes and sorrow stamped upon every line of his face, Roberson gently minced his way out of the room.
1987 A. Tutuola Pauper, Brawler & Slanderer xxiv. 124 Pauper..began mincing himself to left and right when the minstrels were flattering him.
Compounds
C1. With the sense ‘a person who minces something’.† mince-speech n. Obsolete a person who speaks affectedly.
ΚΠ
1621 R. Brathwait Omphale in Natures Embassie 230 Mins-speech, huff-pace, sleeke-skin, and perfum'd breath.
C2. With the sense ‘minced’. See also mincemeat n., mince pie n.† mince veal n. Obsolete rare minced veal.
mince collop n. Scottish = minced collops n. at minced adj. Compounds.
ΚΠ
1821Minch-collops [see sense 1aβ. ].
1854 D. Robertson Laird of Logan (new ed.) 415 Supping in a back land in the Trongate..on mince collops.
1914 J. M. Hay Gillespie i. ix Poor Nan just works hersel' tae the bone for him tae gie him his minch collops an' his tobacca.
ΚΠ
1788 J. Woodforde Diary 2 Apr. (1927) III. 15 We had for dinner..Mutton stakes, mince Veal, Apple Dumplins and Pudding.
1791 J. Woodforde Diary 8 Aug. (1927) III. 291 We were rather put to for a Dinner in so short a time how~ever we did our best and gave them some Beans and Bacon, mince Veal, Neck of Mutton [etc.].
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.int.1804v.1381