Showing posts with label must. Show all posts
Showing posts with label must. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

must, mussed

Must or must describes an action that is imperative; something one ought to do, or should do-
We must do our homework before we watch TV.
You must be sure to unplug that before you remove the back.
Must is also used to express inevitability or certainty--
"Someday we all must die..."
There must have been a reason ...
Must is also used, informally, to mean something required or necessary--
The new phone is a must for the tech crowd.

Mussed or mussed ( rhymes with must ) is the past tense ( yesterday, or some time ago ) of "muss", meaning to make untidy or to leave in disarray--
She mussed her hair just before he took the picture.
His hair was mussed when he took off his hat.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"We must make sure that we don't leave the room mussed up; someone else will have to tidy it up if we do."

Note--"must" also means a kind of mildew or mold--
She didn't like the small of must in the basement.
"Musty" describes something that has mold or mildew on it--
What's that musty smell? We'll have to clean this with some bleach, or leave it in the sun.
"Mustier" is a comparative ( more or less than ) form of "musty"--
I washed it, but it smells even mustier.
Not to be confused with "muster", meaning to call or summon troops, or to assemble a troop-
The troops were ordered to muster at dawn.
"Mustered" is the past tense ( yesterday, or some time ago ) of "muster", meaning to assemble, or to be summoned to assemble--
The troops mustered at dawn.
Not to be confused with "mustard" ( rhymes with mustered ), the popular condiment--
Do you want mustard and ketchup on your burger?
Note # 2--"must" also means unfermented or new wine--
They tasted the must to determine if the wine would be good.
Note # 3--for trivia collectors, "musth" ( rhymes with must ) is a condition of frenzy or agitation that sometimes affects male elephants--
The elephants are not dangerous unless they are in musth.