messing
present participle of mess
Source: Wiktionary
Mess, n.
Definition: Mass; church service. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Mess, n. Etym: [OE. mes, OF. mets, LL. missum, p. p. of mittere to put, place (e. g., on the table), L. mittere to send. See Mission, and cf. Mass religious service.]
1. A quantity of food set on a table at one time; provision of food for a person or party for one meal; as, a mess of pottage; also, the food given to a beast at one time. At their savory dinner set Of herbs and other country messes. Milton.
2. A number of persons who eat together, and for whom food is prepared in common; especially, persons in the military or naval service who eat at the same table; as, the wardroom mess. Shak.
3. A set of four; -- from the old practice of dividing companies into sets of four at dinner. [Obs.] Latimer.
4. The milk given by a cow at one milking. [U.S.]
5. Etym: [Perh. corrupt. fr. OE. mesh for mash: cf. muss.]
Definition: A disagreeable mixture or confusion of things; hence, a situation resulting from blundering or from misunderstanding; as, he made a mess of it. [Colloq.]
Mess, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Messed; p. pr. & vb. n. Messing.]
Definition: To take meals with a mess; to belong to a mess; to eat (with others); as, I mess with the wardroom officers. Marryat.
Mess, v. t.
Definition: To supply with a mess.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
1 June 2025
(verb) come back to the originator of an action with an undesired effect; “Your comments may backfire and cause you a lot of trouble”; “the political movie backlashed on the Democrats”
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
