mincemeat
nounUS /ˈmɪnsˌmit/
Etymology An alteration of earlier minced meat; equivalent to mince + meat.
1
A mixture of fruit, spices and suet used as a filling for mince pies.
- And not to rub salt in wounds, when it comes to making mincemeat of the competition, American Joey Chestnut is still top banana.2015 July 2, Michael Pearson, “6 things to know about hot dog king Joey Chestnut”, in CNN:
2
Rare Minced meat, mince.
3
A badly cut-up body or parts of a body.
- Slicing up every man, woman, and child into mincemeat.2010, The Orbitology, The Book of Godom & Somorrah, →ISBN, page 29:
- This was another phenomenon for which there was no word: someone had reduced the body of another man to mincemeat.2011, Fred Vargas, An Uncertain Place, →ISBN, page 46:
1 more example
- His chest and neck turned into mincemeat. The double chin had been blown away completely, revealing a skeletal jaw and chemically whitened teeth.2011, Scott Kenemore, Zombie, Ohio: A Tale of the Undead, →ISBN, page 228:
4
Broadly Something or someone utterly destroyed.
- Weevil Underwood: My army of insects will make mincemeat out of you!2002 March 20, Kazuki Takahashi, Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories (PlayStation video game, North American version), Konami:
- No one was to be spared in this frightful slaughter. The American 34th, 36th Texas, lst Armored, the British, the New Zealanders, the Indians, the Poles and the French, under the brilliant General Juin; all were to be ground to mincemeat by futile attacks against this fortress.2003, Theresa Deane, 500 Days of Front Line Combat: The WWII Memoir of Ralph B. Schaps, →ISBN:
3 more examples
- "He said his client had been receiving death threats and he was quite paranoid. "His exact words were: 'I think he's mincemeat by now'."2007 January 18, “Solicitor thought client was 'mincemeat'”, in The Age:
- For the common man in the sixteenth century, a calendar which paced not just the seasons but also the life of Christ would have to be divinely inspired. It would capture his heart and his mind. Pope Gregory's four hundred-year-one would become mincemeat.2007, Bill Napier, Splintered Icon, →ISBN:
- Happily for the Lakers, who were mincemeat without him, Nash is back in the nick of time, with the Knicks, who walked all over them in New York two weeks ago, in town for a Christmas Day game.2012 December 24, Mark Heisler, “After Looking East to the Knicks, Nash Cut West to the Lakers”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 31 May 2015:
- Synonyms
- mince, ground meat
- Derived terms
- make mincemeat out of, make mincemeat of, mincemeat pie, mincemeaty