mondo

noun, adj, adv — 3 senses

mondo

noun

Etymology From Japanese 問答 (mondō).

1

A dialogue between master and student designed to obtain an intuitive truth.

mondo

adj

Etymology From the title of the 1962 Italian cult documentary film Mondo cane, Italian for "A Dog's World", from mondo (“world”) and cane (“dog”). The film featured bizarre scenes, leading to English use of mondo as an adverb meaning "very, extremely" in mock-Italian phrases like mondo bizarro. Doublet of monde.

1

US, Slang Big, large; major, significant.

  • […] I mean, me bein' here has caused us some mondo problems, so I shoulda figured out that not bein' here anymore would cause some more problems — "1997, K. C. Constantine, Family Values, G. K. Hall & Co., published 1997, →ISBN, page 80:
  • Younger gorgeous woman marries older, rich man, lives her life solely for him while reaping the bennies of mondo moolah only to end up dumped by older rich man for newer, younger model.2010, Dakota Cassidy, You Dropped a Blonde on Me, Berkley Sensation, published 2010, →ISBN:
1 more example
  • “You're kidding—you can eat again after that mondo burger you had for lunch?”2012, Lucienne Diver, Crazy in the Blood, Samhain Publishing, Ltd., published 2012, →ISBN, page 79:

mondo

adv

Etymology From the title of the 1962 Italian cult documentary film Mondo cane, Italian for "A Dog's World", from mondo (“world”) and cane (“dog”). The film featured bizarre scenes, leading to English use of mondo as an adverb meaning "very, extremely" in mock-Italian phrases like mondo bizarro. Doublet of monde.

1

US, Slang Very, extremely, really.

  • "This rain is mondo depressing," Sam sighed as she stared out the sliding glass doors that led to the Hewitts' deck.1992, Cherie Bennett, Sunset Paradise, Berkley, published 1992, →ISBN, page 1:
  • This recipe, from someone who really knows her tiramisu, is mondo rich, utterly divine, and simple.2001, Margie Lapanja, Food Men Love: All-Time Favorite Recipes from Caesar Salad and Grilled Rib-Eye to Cinnamon Buns and Apple Pie, Conari Press, published 2001, →ISBN, page 196:
1 more example
  • “Hey, this place is mondo cool. Bowie hangs out there. It's so packed you can hardly get in. And they play industrial out of one set of speakers and the Sex Pistols out of the other. I mean in the same room! Like, at a thousand decibels."2002, Jeffrey Deaver, Mistress of Justice, Bantam Books, published 2002, →ISBN, page 93:
Derived terms
mondo bizarro

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.