moose n.1
(orig. Can.)1. a large, powerful, poss. clumsy man; thus a nickname.
![[US]](/static/img/flags/us.png "United States") | Anaconda Standard (MT) 23 May 1/1: It was in Des Moines in 1902 that he gained the nickname of ‘Moose’[...] ‘You’re as big as a moose’. | |
| ‘Low Brow’ in Collected Baseball Stories (2004) 19: ‘Moose’ McGuigan was preparing for the fray. | |
| (con. c.1910) Holy Old Mackinaw 119: He was a moose of a man. | |
| Farewell, My Lovely (1949) 14: They call me Moose Malloy on account of I’m large. | |
| [W.R. Burnett] It’s Always Four O’Clock 15: He just stood there, not struggling, looking up at the manager, who was a big rough moose. | |
| et al. CUSS. | |
![[Aus]](/static/img/flags/aus.png "Australia") | Salute to the Great McCarthy 89: He’ll be up against Moose Tucker, one of the greatest animals ever to put on a boot. | |
| Long Walk in Bachman Books (1995) 273: Hey Ma! Look at the big guy! Look at that moose, Ma! | |
| (con. early 1950s) L.A. Confidential 366: A moose like you could get reamed, steamed and dry-cleaned. | |
| (con. 1964-65) Sex and Thugs and Rock ’n’ Roll 5: A moose in a funky black dinner suit. | |
| Rough Trade [ebook] The first moose yanked the door handle of the cab, pulling hard enough to rock the car noticeably. |
2. an unattractive woman.
 | OnLine Dict. of Playground Sl. 🌐 moose n. A very ugly girl. | |
![[UK]](/static/img/flags/uk.png "United Kingdom") | Cutting It Fine 69: Kitchen talk is pretty basic: what’s happened the day before, who’s shagging who, is she a moose, is she nice? | |
| Kill Your Friends (2009) 38: Michelle. She is, what do you call them, Schteeven, a moose? [...] But this is not a problem. We will find somebody else to front it. |
3. (US campus) a very close friend.
| Campus Sl. Spring 2: boy – best friend, term of utmost affection [...] Also bo, bro, dog, homie, moose. |
SE in slang uses
In compounds
(US) an ugly person who is nonetheless wealthy and thus attractive.
| Vocabulum 56: Moose-face. A rich, ugly-faced man; a poor but handsome young girl who marries an old, wrinklefaced, ill-looking rich man, is said to have married a moose-face [DA]. | |
| ‘Terms Of Disparagement’ in DN IV:iii 206: moose-face, a rich, ugly-faced man. ‘Old Squire Seman is a regular moose-face’. |
a derog. term for a resident of Canada.
| GeistMag.com Oct. 🌐 Take the opportunity to jump onto the bar and scream anti-Canadian obscenities. I find that ‘Moose Fucker’ and ‘Big Fat Hunk of Canadian Bacon Faggot Shit’ work fairly well in antagonizing the softies. | |
| Fringe Report 2002 🌐 His delightful set covers a ramble at leisurely pace through living in Edinburgh, warm pies, girlfriends, the death of his goldfish Squirty, nicknames, stereotypes, and the non-use in Canada of the insult ‘Moose-Fucker’ (because they know the size of a moose). |
(Can.) some form of home-brewed alcohol concocted on the Yukon, e.g. milk and rum mixed.
| ‘Drunk in Sl.’ in AS XVI:1 Jan. 70/2: liquor [...] moose milk. | |
| Quicksand 169: When we do get back to port [...] we’ll have ourselves the biggest moose milk party this battered old crate’s ever seen. | |
| Woods Words 119: Moose milk — A stiff drink made of coffee, milk, and rum, mostly rum. | |
| Californian (Salinas, CA) 1 Feb. 38/5: Lenz, Rouser and anyone who cares to drop in gather [...] for doughnuts, fruit juice, coffee and ‘moose milk’. The ‘moose milk’ [...] was stricgtly for adulkts. | |
| et al. Never Cry Wolf [film] Moose juice...consisted of equal parts of Moose brand beer and ethyl alcohol [HDAS]. | |
| (con. 1941) Crossing the Line 23: Happily drunk on ‘moosemilk,’ a mixture of coffee and bombsight alcohol, of 99 percent purity. | |
| Capital Times (Madison, WIU) 4 Feb. 17/3: All these people [...] enjoying Moose Milk (a hot alcoholic drink). |
In exclamations
(US) used as an oath.
| (con. 1940s) Admiral (1968) 216: ‘It’s the whisky makes my lips pucker.’ ‘Moose shit.’. | |
| Trapper’s Last Shot (1974) 95: ‘Moose shit!’ Beau Jim said and sat down again. | |
| Half a Kick 34: Gawl damn moose-fuck! [HDAS]. |