masher meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

masher

noun

/ˈmæʃə(ɹ)/

Etymology From mash + -er.

One who, or that which, mashes.

Beverages, Brewing, Business, Food, Lifestyle, Manufacturing A machine for making mash.

Derived terms: bean masher, button masher, molar masher, potato masher

masher

noun

Etymology Either by analogy with masher (“one who presses, softens”), or more likely from Romani masha (“a fascinator, an enticer”), mashdva (“fascination, enticement”). Originally used in theater, and recorded in US in 1870s. Either originally borrowed as masher, from masha, or from mash + -er.

Dated, Informal A fashionable man.

For in this quality of “clubbable,” and the value now put upon it, lies the whole secret of change in our fast men, mashers, and men about town.1886, Punch, volume 91, page 249:

Australia, Canada, US, Dated A man who makes often unwelcome advances to women, as in a subway.

"Oh, gee!" remarked the Girl from Sieber-Mason's, glancing up with the most capable coolness. "Ain't there any way to ever get rid of you mashers? I've tried everything from eating onions to using hatpins. Be on your way, Freddie."c. 1900, O. Henry, The Ferry of Unfulfilment:
"Mama! Do you think that I'd allow a common masher-- Now, really Mama! I have my standards where men are concerned..."1957, Meredith Willson, The Music Man:

Related terms: mash, masherdom, mash note