M vocabulary words.

Encountered online over the past few years. There I was reading along in American and these words popped up as if they were ordinary, as if they would make sense and would work, so I wrote them down to make fun of them but never to actually use them. As you can see that would be ridiculous.

It's a big group and they're all useless.

* MacGuffin: a plot element that catches the viewers' attention or drives the plot of a work of fiction". The defining aspect of a MacGuffin is that the major players in the story are (at least initially willing to do and sacrifice almost anything to obtain it, regardless of what the MacGuffin actually is. In fact, the specific nature of the MacGuffin may be ambiguous, undefined, generic, left open to interpretation or otherwise completely unimportant to the plot. Common examples are money, victory, glory, survival, a source of power, or a potential threat, or it may simply be something entirely unexplained.

* Maedads: the female followers of Dionysus and the most significant members of the Thiasus, the god's retinue. Their name literally translates as "raving ones."

* majuscules: A large letter

* malapert: boldly disrespectful to a person of higher standing.

* malletie: French, a Trunk-Maker, or manufacturer of luggage and suitcases.



* Malleus Maleficarum: “The Hammer of Witches”, or “Hexenhammer” in German is one of the most famous medieval treatises on witches. It was written in 1486 by Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger, and was first published in Germany in 1487. Its main purpose was to challenge all arguments against the existence of witchcraft and to instruct magistrates on how to identify, interrogate and convict witches.

* malum prohibitum: "wrong [as or because] prohibited" is a Latin phrase used in Law to refer to conduct that constitutes an unlawful act only by virtue of statute, as opposed to conduct evil in and of itself, or malum in se

* Manicaean: dualistic: of or relating to the philosophical doctrine of dualism; "a an adherent of Manichaeism. was one of the major Iranian Gnostic religions, originating in Sassanid Persia. Although most of the original writings of the founding prophet Mani

* manqué:  the past participle of the verb manquer, to miss - which is applied as an adjective in English to someone who might have become something but did not. It is placed after a noun (as in French) and is used in particular of professions: for example, a civil servant with a highly pronounced political sense or inclination (and who thus might have made a good politician) might be described as a "politician manqué".

* mantilla: lace or silk scarf worn over the head and shoulders, often over a high comb, popular with women in Spain

* maquillage: Synonyms: cosmetics, makeup, paint, war paint. <the aging actress's thick maquillage made her look like a parody of her younger self>

* Marcusian: nited States political philosopher (born in Germany) concerned about the dehumanizing effects of capitalism and modern technology (1898-1979)

* Mare Nostrum: "Our Sea" was a Roman name for the Mediterranean Sea.

* mare's nest: A much vaunted discovery, which later turns out to be illusory or worthless. The first, and 'proper' meaning, has it that finding a mare's nest is imagining that one has found something remarkable when in fact one has found nothing of the sort. The second meaning, which is more widespread today, is that a mare's nest is a confused mess - more on that later.

* matriculate: to enroll as a member of a body and especially of a college or university
 
* mau-mau: To menace through intimidating tactics; to intimidate, harass; to terrorize

* Maunder minimum:  "prolonged sunspot minimum", is the name used for the period starting in about 1645 and continuing to about 1715 when sunspots became exceedingly rare, as noted by solar observers of the time.

* mauvaise foi: bad faith

* Maxfield Frederick Parrish: Even if you think you don’t know the artist Maxfield Frederick Parrish, (1870-1966) you’ll probably recognize prints that hung in your great aunt’s home or that of an elderly friend or relative.  The most famous of the prints was titled “Daybreak,” (1922). The actual painting, from which the prints were copied, sold not long ago for $5,234,500. Before Parrish painted his iconic neo-classical paintings full of atmosphere, languid youth and the famous ‘Parrish blue’, he was illustrating western scenes for the covers of McClure’s, Colliers and other popular turn-of-the-century magazines.

* MBM: Make Believe Media

* megrims: Depression; low spirits.A whim or fancy.

* melismas: s the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in this style is referred to as melismatic, as opposed to syllabic, where each syllable of text is matched to a single note.

* melismatic: a single syllabyl turned into a musical run

* memento mori: a reminder (as a death's head) of your mortality. A short story written by Jonathan Nolan. In the story, a man named Earl has anterograde amnesia, a condition in which his brain cannot make new memories.

* memetics: study of ideas and concepts viewed as "living" organisms, capable of reproduction and evolution in an "Ideosphere" (similar to the Biosphere) consisting of the collective of human minds. Memes reproduce by spreading to new hosts, who will spread them further (typical examples are jokes, catchphrases or politicial ideas).

* mene mene tekel upharsin: The writing on the wall.  Aramaic names of measures of currency: MENE, a mina, TEKEL, a spelling of shekel, PERES, half a mina. Despite various inducements, none of the royal magicians or advisors can interpret the omen. The King sends for Daniel, an exiled Jew taken from Jerusalem, who had served in high office under Nebuchadnezzar. Rejecting offers of reward, Daniel warns the King of the folly of his arrogant blasphemy before reading the text. The meaning that Daniel decrypts from these words is based on passive verbs corresponding to the measure names.
And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; TEKEL, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting; PERES, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.[3]
That very night King Belshazzar is slain, and Darius the Mede becomes King.

* mens rea: "guilty mind".In criminal law, it is viewed as one of the necessary elements of a crime. The standard common law test of criminal liability is usually expressed in the Latin phrase, actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea, which means "the act does not make a person guilty unless the mind is also guilty".

* Mephistophelian: showing the cunning or ingenuity or wickedness typical of a devil; "devilish schemes"; "the cold calculation and diabolic art of some statesmen"; "the diabolical expression on his face"; "a mephistophelian glint in his eye"

* mephitic: Foul-smelling; noxious (esp. of a gas or vapor)

* meretricious: apparently attractive but having in reality no value or integrity."meretricious souvenirs for the tourist trade"

* meretriciousness: alluring by a show of flashy or vulgar attractions; tawdry.

* merism: In rhetoric and law, a merism is a figure of speech by which a single thing is referred to by a conventional phrase that enumerates several of its parts, or which lists several synonyms for the same thing.  biology, a merism is a repetition of similar parts in the structure of an organism (Bateson 1894). Such features are called meristic characters, and the study of such characters is called meristics.

* meshugaas: Crazy or senseless activity or behavior; craziness.

* metanoia: changing one's mind in the context of theological discussion, where it is used often, is usually interpreted to mean repentance. A fundamental change of mind; Spiritual conversion
   
* métier: A trade, profession, or occupation

* mickle: Great. A great quantity of something. "Aye, weel, mony a mickle mak's a muckle, as Papa used to say." Many proverbs use alliteration: "Many a mickle (little) makes a muckle (lot)," rhyme: "Man proposes, God disposes," parallelism: "Nothing ventured, nothing gained," ellipsis: "First come, first served," etc.

* micturating:  urinating

* micturition: syncope or post-micturition syncope is the name given to the human phenomenon of fainting shortly after or during urination. It is a type of vasovagal response. The act of passing urine; urination.

* mimetic: mimicry

* minacious: Of a menacing or threatening nature; minatory.

* minarchism: sometimes called minimal statism, small government, or limited-government libertarianism.  refers to a political ideology which maintains that the state's only legitimate function is the protection of individuals from aggression, theft, breach of contract and fraud. (Such states are sometimes called night watchman states.) Minarchists defend the existence of the state as a necessary evil, but assert that it may only act to protect the life, liberty, and property of each individual.

* minatory Gauleiters: Do we really want these latter-day Gauleiters swaggering about the joint with their preposterous uniforms, minatory attitudes, and an amount of firepower more appropriate to a battlefield than a small town?" No.  Roger Kimball

* minging: foul-smelling.

* misericordiam: An appeal to pity (also called argumentum ad misericordiam) is a fallacy in which someone tries to win support for an argument or idea by exploiting her or his opponent's feelings of pity or guilt. The appeal to pity is a specific kind of appeal to emotion.

* mistral: in France is a cool or cold, often violent, and usually dry wind, blowing throughout the year but is most frequent in winter and spring. It blows from the northwest or north of Europe through the valley of the Rhône River to the Mediterranean

* mizzle: light rain; drizzle.

* modus ponens:  the way that affirms by affirming; often abbreviated to MP or modus ponens is a valid, simple argument form sometimes referred to as affirming the antecedent or the law of detachment. It is closely related to another valid form of argument, modus tollens.
Modus ponens is a very common rule of inference, and takes the following form: If P, then Q. P.Therefore, Q.

* mohel: a Jewish person trained in the practice of Brit milah (circumcision).

* moiety: a half, an indefinite portion, part, or share. one of two units into which a tribe or community is divided on the basis of unilineal descent.

* molllycoddle: A person, especially a man or a boy, who is pampered and overprotected.

* Molōn labe: come and take them.

* monomania: a psychosis characterized by thoughts confined to one idea or group of ideas.
an inordinate or obsessive zeal for or interest in a single thing, idea, subject, or the like

* monopsony: a market form in which only one buyer faces many sellers. It is an example of imperfect competition, similar to a monopoly, in which only one seller faces many buyers. As the only purchaser of a good or service, the monopsonist may dictate terms to its suppliers in the same manner that a monopolist controls the market for its buyers.
   
* monotreme: "hole", referring to the cloaca are mammals that lay eggs (Prototheria) instead of giving birth to live young like marsupials (Metatheria) and placental mammals (Eutheria). The only surviving examples of monotremes are all indigenous to Australia and New Guinea, although there is evidence that they were once more widespread. Among living mammals they include the platypus and the echidnas (or spiny anteaters); there is debate regarding monotreme taxonomy

* montage: the process or technique of selecting, editing, and piecing together separate sections of film to form a continuous whole.the technique of producing a new composite whole from fragments of pictures, text, or music.

* Montanism: Montanus, spoke in tongues at Anatolia early church. Prophesy, caused a problem because early church could not handle it. Rejected clergy, said anyone could be a prophet. Eventually the clerics prevailed.

* moon face: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

* mordant: (esp. of humor) having or showing a sharp or critical quality; biting. a substance, typically an inorganic oxide, that combines with a dye or stain and thereby fixes it in a material.
    
* mosh: To knock against others intentionally while dancing at a rock concert; slam-dance.

* moue: A small grimace; a pout.
A week into their defeat, there are no moue-faced apologies absorbing internet bandwidth; therapists are not stocking up on punch-pillows.

* MSM:  ministry of state misinformation

* mulct: victimize: deprive of by deceit; "He swindled me out of my inheritance"; "She defrauded the customers who trusted her"; "the cashier gypped me when he gave me too little change" impose a fine on; "he was fined for littering"

* mulishness: a steadfast adherence to an opinion, purpose, or course of action <cursed their mulishness for failing to own up to what seemed like an obvious mistake to him>

* multivalence: polyvalence: (chemistry) the state of having a valence greater than two
webwn, having many values, meanings, or appeals; "subtle, multivalent allegory", more than two chromosomes synapsed in a unit during prophase I of meiosis; characteristic of many autopolyploids.

* mumchance: silent, tongue-tied

* mummy brown: a rich brown bituminous pigment, intermediate in tint between burnt umber and raw umber, which was one of the favorite colors of the Pre-Raphaelites.

* munter: ugly woman

* myrmidons: a legendary people of Greek history. They were very brave warriors: trained and commanded by Achilles, as described in Homer's Iliad. Their eponymous ancestor was Myrmidon, a king of Thessalian Phthia, who was the son of Zeus and "wide-ruling" Eurymedousa, a princess of Phthia. refer to a certain class of demonic soldiers that fight for darkness against light. This has been found by archaeologists in papyri known as Coptic Manichaean Psalm-books.

* mythography: he representation of myths, especially in the plastic arts. the creation or collection of myths.

I said, "useless" to prejudice you. That way when you saw a potentially useful one you'd go, "Hey! That one is useful."