(uncountable) A mass of mixed ingredients reduced to a soft pulpy state by beating or pressure; a mass of anything in a soft pulpy state.
(brewing) Ground or bruisedmalt, ormeal of rye, wheat, corn, or othergrain (or a mixture of malt and meal)steeped andstirred in hot water for making thewort.
Either[1][2] by analogy with[3]mash(“to press, to soften”), or more likely from[4]Romanimasha(“a fascinator, an enticer”),mashdva(“fascination, enticement”). Originally used in theater,[5] and recorded in US in 1870s. Either originally used asmash, or a backformation frommasher, frommasha. Leland writes of the etymology:[6]
It was introduced by the well-known gypsy family of actors, C., among whom Romany was habitually spoken. The word “masher” or “mash” means in that tongue to allure, delude, or entice. It was doubtless much aided in its popularity by its quasi-identity with the English word. But there can be no doubt as to the gypsy origin of “mash” as used on the stage. I am indebted for this information to the late well-known impresario [Albert Marshall] Palmer of New York, and I made a note of it years before the term had become at all popular.
Mostlyclipping ofmachine gun, but also for imitative reasons, compare the gun-namesmop andbroom; intentionally chosen around 2000 due to its homonymy and obscurity for legal reasons.
2016, “Skeng Man”, Various performers of 67 (lyrics)[1]:
Thismash works but I don't know about yours[…] Better hope yourmash don't jam, bare ping ping like a BB[…] I see a boy run with hismash, I see a boy run with his jooka[…] Don't talk aboutmashes, we've lost about ten I know about cookers
2020 July 2, “Stop Check”, Td of TPL (lyrics)[2]:
Rise that heater, tap thatmash They don't come outside their flats Decamp, decamp, aim this toolie at your hat They piss us off on Snap, so we rise up and load them straps
2021 October 19, “Exciting Freestyle”,🇮🇪 #D15 Trigz (lyrics)[3]:
Close man’s eyes, make them look Chinese Or do it like tits when themash gets squeezed When we squeeze thatmash, tell your boy don’t dash Me I just want cash But if they want war let’s leave it at dat
2023 August 24, “Dri-Fit”, SWiTCH (lyrics)[4]GRM Daily,0:54:
If themash empty, tell boy reload it
2023 September 28, “Block Boy”, #Sinsquad Stewie (lyrics),0:47:
Shoot my gun like Tommy Shеlby If I get close ching him out of his LVs Slimey as fuck, man took thatmash Probably takе that grub that he sell me (Take that)
^Charles Godfrey Leland inThe Gypsies, p. 109, footnote 108; and preface to his poem “The Masher”, where he credits the etymology to [Albert Marshall] Palmer, a Broadway producer.
^Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang
