mouse n.
1. as a female, or representative of female characteristics [there is no discernible link between senses 1a and 1e].
(a) a woman, esp. when applied to a prostitute or a woman arrested for brawling in the street.
![[UK]](/static/img/flags/uk.png "United Kingdom") | Nice Wanton Aii: ismael: Spyn, quod ha, yea by the mass, and your heles up wynd, For a good mouse hunt, is cat after kyng. barnabas: Lewd speakyng corrupteth good maners. | |
| Trial of Treasure E: My mouse my nobs and cony swete My hope and ioye my whole delight. | |
| Mother Bombie IV ii: God saue you pretty mouse. | |
| Knight of the Burning Pestle I ii: wife: Stay... till I question my husband. cit.: What is it mouse? | |
| English-Men For My Money I 2: I tell thee Mouse, I knew a Wench as nice. | |
| Love’s Mistress IV i: Venus, sweet mouse, nay prithee do not chide. | |
| Modern London Spy 38: Men taken up for assaults or night-brawls were termed Rats, and the harlots or women [...] were there [prison] called Mice, and at locking up hours, crammed into a hole. |
(b) a timid or effeminate man.
| Juvenal VI 106: Into the Fair with Women mixt, he went, Arm’d with a huge two-handed Instrument; A grateful Present to those holy Quires, Where the Mouse guilty of his Sex retires. |
(c) the vagina.
| ‘The Horrible Fright’ Pearl 2 Aug. 32: He treats your poor innocent mouse like a rat / That’s touzled and claw’d, and devour’d by a cat. |
(d) a mistress; a girlfriend.
![[US]](/static/img/flags/us.png "United States") | Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 22 Nov. 15/2: There’s old uncle Bill Tovee, watching with delight somebody’s ‘chicken’ and some one’s ‘mouse’ slogging each other on the stage. |
(e) a small, very feminine girl who invites being cuddled.
| Boy’s Own Paper 19 Jan. 242: What a pretty little consequential mouse was Mattie. | |
| Pal Joey 2: I heard about this spot through a little mouse I got to know. | |
| Harder They Fall (1971) 194: The little mouse who was his for the evening screamed and he broke surface. | |
| Owning Up (1974) 213: ‘Mouse’ as an expression for a girl had been widespread in the mid-fifties. |
(f) a woman.
| Society Snapshots 113: Sir Startin Price (chaffingly) What? Jealous? Lady de Handicap (scornfully) Of that? Sir Startin Price(chidingly) Foolish Mouse. | |
| N.Y. World 4 Feb. 1: She’s a cunning little mouse [...] It was a whale of a party . | |
| ‘Ten Carats of Lead’ in Black Mask Stories (2010) 235/1: Up in the Marsh mouse’s furnished room, I find a very gaudy piece of jewelry. | |
| Halo in Blood (1988) 133: He told me he was running around with a hot little mouse named Leona Sandmark. | |
| Long Wait (1954) 28: You’re a nice little mouse and all that, but you’re strictly the kind of sex I can’t afford to have around right now. | |
 | Murderer’s Row n.p.: ‘A mouse I’ve never seen before saves me from the cops and asks me to a conference in a hotel room.’ [...] ‘What’s a mouse, Jim?’ ‘Don’t act dumb. A mouse is a broad.’. | |
| ‘The African Element in American English’ in Kochman Rappin’ and Stylin’ Out 183: mouse, in sense of ‘(attractive) girl, young woman; girl friend, wife’. |
(g) (US Und.) an effeminate male homosexual; thus a fellator.
| (con. 1905–25) Professional Thief (1956) 239: Mouse – Extortion in connection with homosexual attempts; a homosexual person. | |
| Queens’ Vernacular 138: mouse 1. (dated, fr hetero sl mouse = flaccid penis + comparison of homosexuals with timid mice) cocksucker, he nibbles at another’s crotch. | |
| Lowspeak. | |
| (con. early 1950s) L.A. Confidential 431: Guy who makes his living playing a mouse has gotta be capable of anything. |
(h) a weakling.
| ‘Coffin Custodian’ Ten Detective Aces Apr. 🌐 My thumb waggled at Richter again. ‘As I said, this mouse wants to buy said criminal findings from me.’. | |
| Criminal Sl. (rev. edn). | |
| et al. CUSS 159: Mouse A small or insignificant person. | |
| Semi-Tough 52: Shithouse mouse, we’ll have their dog-asses on Sunday! | |
![[Aus]](/static/img/flags/aus.png "Australia") | Chopper From The Inside 79: The mainstream criminal population [...] are nothing but weak-gutted mice. |
(i) (US black) one’s wife; thus mousetrap n. (1), marriage.
| ‘Observation Post’ in N.Y. Age 26 July 9/8: How a certain ‘mouse’ does play when her hubby, the ‘cat’s’ away. | |
| ‘The African Element in American English’ in Kochman Rappin’ and Stylin’ Out 183: mouse, in sense of ‘(attractive) girl, young woman; girl friend, wife’. |
(j) (Aus.) in pl., the girls who accompany the Aus. variety of Teddy Boy.
| Aus. Speaks. |
2. the penis [its penetration of narrow spaces; note dial. mouldiwarp].
| Peeping Tom (London) 40 160/2: And the wanton little mousey / Goes — where I will not say. | |
| Sl. and Its Analogues. | |
| Maledicta IV:2 (Winter) 191: Thus the mouse goes into the mousehole, the carrot is used to tempt the cunny-warren, the kennel-raker rakes the kennel. | |
| ‘The Mouse Trap’ Flash Chaunter 30: One mouse at a time is sufficient for me. |
3. (also mousie) a black eye [supposed resemblance].
| Bk of Sports 44: The left eye of Gaynor was touched a little. ‘Look,’ said Sam, ‘at the mouse!’. | |
| Era (London) 18 July 6/2: Eden showed a mouse under the eye. | |
| N.Y. Clipper 6 Aug. 1/7: [of a bruise on the cheek] Massey got in his left high on M’Nulty’s forehead, who returned the compliment on Massey's left cheekbone, raising thereon ‘a mouse’. | |
| Adventures of Mr Verdant Green (1982) II 166: While to another he would say, as a fact not to be disputed [...] ‘That’ll raise a tidy mouse on your ogle, my lad!’. | |
| Bell’s Life in Victoria (Melbourne) 6 June 3/6: Bambrook showing unmistakable evidence of a mouse under the left squinter; his kissing trap considerably altered in shape; and a profuse supply of the rosy issuing from the snout. | |
| Professor at the Breakfast Table 253: Mouse is a technical term for a bluish, oblong, rounded elevation occasioned by running one’s forehead or eyebrow against another’s knuckles. | |
| in House Scraps (1887) 54: His ‘dexter ogle’ has a ‘mouse’; His conk’s devoid of bark. | |
| Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 4 Feb. 2/3: ‘Pugs’ [...] with their aesthetic combinations of the colors blood red, black and blue, with a delicate ‘mouse’ shade thrown in . | |
| Sydney Sl. Dict. (2 edn) 6: Mouse - A blackeye. | |
| Dead Bird (Sydney) 1 Feb. 5/3: He’d a mouse on his eye and a nick on his chin. | |
| Sporting Times 28 Feb. 7/5: A brace of mice or mouses / In the next bout he wore. | |
| Hartlepool Mail 26 Feb. 6/4: Mouse, a contused eye. | |
| Bulletin (Sydney) 10 Mar. 24/2: No harm resulted; not the faintest indication of the ruby showed, nor was the slightest trace of a ‘mouse’ visible. | |
| Pitcher in Paradise 174: Dear me, where did you get that fearful mouse, brother? | |
| Sure 66: ‘Did you tink he needed a mouse under his eye to make Maggie see what a good looker he is?’. | |
| Bulletin (Sydney) 11 July 26/1: But send us, Lord, a prophet with a punch, / Who’ll knock Jack Johnson’s teeth into a bunch. [...] But send us, Lord, an artist who can feint, / And under Johnson’s eye a large ‘mouse’ paint. | |
| ‘On Account of a Lady’ Taking the Count 143: Whitey had a mouse under his left eye. Sammy had a lump on his jaw. | |
| (con. 1918) Top Kick 7: Who put him the mouse on his eye? | |
| (con. 1900s) Behind The Green Lights 78: I looked at the mouse forming under one eye but lied like a gentleman. | |
| ‘Coffin Custodian’ Ten Detective Aces Apr. 🌐 There was a welt on her cheek, a purple mouse under her left eye. | |
| Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) 130: I come home with a mouse hung over one eye. | |
| Murder Me for Nickels (2004) 83: The bartender had a mouse under one eye. | |
| Marilyn The Wild (2003) 42: Brian’s knuckles mashed against her cheekbone. She had little mousies under her eyes. | |
| White Shoes 251: A bit of a fat lip [and] a small mouse under each eye. | |
| Angel of Montague Street (2004) 98: Sean had a mouse under one eye. | |
| (con. 1954) Tomato Can Comeback [ebook] By round six Hollis had a mouse over his right eye where Tom had dished out constant punishment. | |
| Razorblade Tears 23: He could see a small mouse under his right eye. |
4. a barrister, a solicitor.
| DSUE (1984) 758: ca. 1888–1910. |
5. (UK Und.) a professional or amateur informer [play on rat n.1 ].
| Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 1 July 2/1: The Police Gazette, dirty Dalziel, Dickie Llngard’s ‘mouse,’ says, is never seen outside of ‘boozing kens’. | |
| Double Event 223: ‘He’s turned mouse, has he?’ said an ill-looking man. [...] ‘He’s turned us over.’. | |
| Opium Addiction in Chicago. | |
| et al. DAUL 142/1: Mouse, n. An informer. | |
| Complete Guide to Gambling. | |
| (con. 1950s–60s) in Little Legs 195: mouse an informer. |
6. (Aus.) a man who does not consummate his marriage on the wedding night [? f. phr. ‘are you a man or a mouse?’].
| DSUE (8th edn) 561/1: A man who ‘does it the first night’ is a ‘man’. One who does not is a ‘mouse’ and one who has already done it is a ‘rat’ (a valued correspondent): Aus.: since ca. 1920. |
7. (US black) a pocket [ety. unknown; ? abbr. SE mouse-hole].
| New Hepsters Dict. in Calloway (1976) 258: mouse (n.): pocket. Ex., ‘I’ve got a meter in the mouse.’. | |
| ‘Jiver’s Bible’ in Orig. Hbk of Harlem Jive. |
8. (N.Z. prison) a tampon.
![[NZ]](/static/img/flags/nz.png "New Zealand") | Boobslang [U. Canterbury D.Phil. thesis] 119/1: mouse n. 1 a tampon. |
9. (N.Z. prison) a newly qualified prison officer.
| Boobslang [U. Canterbury D.Phil. thesis] 119/1: mouse n. 2 an officer new to the prison. |
In compounds
a womanizer, a wencher.
| Romeo and Juliet IV iv: Ay, you have been a mouse-hunt in your time, But I will watch you from such watching now. |
(N.Z. prison) a cigarette filter.
| Boobslang [U. Canterbury D.Phil. thesis] 119/2: mouse tampon n. a cigarette filter. |
In phrases
to get a black eye.
| Passing Eng. of the Victorian Era 91/2: Cop a mouse (Artisans’). Get a black eye. Cop in this sense is to catch or suffer, while the colour of the obligation at its worst suggests the colour and size of the innocent animal named. |
(US black) to betray, to complain of.
| ‘Observation Post’ in N.Y. Age 24 Aug. 10/6: They say that ‘Yellow’ Jack’s wife played mousie and squealed on him. |
SE in slang uses
In compounds
(US) a fool.
| Thief 259: The clout had done mouse-brain some good. | |
| Portrait of Love [cartoon bk] 25: He’ll be mad as hell if you do, mousebrain. |
the vagina.
| Maledicta IV:2 (Winter) 191: Thus the mouse goes into the mousehole, the carrot is used to tempt the cunny-warren, the kennel-raker rakes the kennel. |
(US) a tampon.
| ‘A Visit from Aunt Rose’ in Verbatim Winter n.p.: Tampons [...] have their own euphemisms: mouse mattresses, the white horse, manhole cover, coyote sandwich, saddle blankets, teddy bears, and the industry-sanctioned [...] feminine supplies. |
(orig. US) one who spends what is seen as an excessive time using their computer, usu. in the context of the Internet.
| Hope College ‘Dict. of New Terms’ 🌐 mouse potato n. A person who spends too much time surfing the internet. Found in Experience Magazine, September 1999. | |
| N.Y. Times 27 June n.p.: As couch potatoes become ‘mouse potatoes,’ as teenagers become ‘screenagers,’ the once lowly geek has become a cultural icon, studied by the fashionistas of Seventh Avenue and the Nasdaq watchers of Wall Street alike. |
see separate entries.
In phrases
1. to do anything undemanding and simple.
![[Ire]](/static/img/flags/ire.png "Ireland") | Slanguage. |
2. to undertake a task requiring deviousness and patience.
| ‘This P.E.N.’ in Hair of the Dogma (1989) 171: The majority of the members of the Irish parliament are professional politicians, in the sense that otherwise they would not be given jobs minding mice at a crossroads. | |
| Down All the Days 187: Not far from the wrong side of the border. You could always tell by their canny little ways, famous for the minding of mice at the crossroads. | |
| Irish Times 7 Oct. n.p.: The modern spin doctor is [...] a combination of ‘cute hoor’ and master strategist, someone who can mind mice at the crossroads and write an election manifesto at the same time [BS]. |
3. to be mean.
| www.weddingsonline.ie 18 May 🌐 His folks are loaded and i mean properties let out here and abroad and full time jobs still, but would mind mice at the cross roads. At times they would embarras [sic] us at how tight they are. |
In exclamations
a mild excl.
| Worthye Enterlude of Kyng Daryus (1860) 7: By the mouse foote I charge you to appere. | |
| Misogonus in (1906) III i: By th’ mouse foot! do so, master. | |
| London Prodigal C: Ile come and visit you, by the mouse-foot I will. | |
| King in Country I 8: I hope that’s well spoken; for, by the mouse-foot, some give him hard words. |