Word of the Day

: February 14, 2008

mash

noun MASH

What It Means

: an intense and usually passing infatuation; also : the object of infatuation

mash in Context

I think Daisy has a mash on you -- you should ask her to the Valentine's Day dance.

Did You Know?

Those shot by Cupid's arrow know that love can spur a desire to hold one's beloved tightly and never let go. Perhaps that embracing feeling of love is why "mash," originally a word for an act of squeezing and crushing, became a term for an intense infatuation or the object of it in 1870. The more popular "crush" showed its loving side in 1884, and "main squeeze" had begun crossing the lips of sweethearts by 1926. "Mash" itself is not widely used today, but the compound "mash note," referring to a love letter, has enjoyed many happy years since its union in 1890.