mau-mau

See also: Mau-Mau and Mau Mau

English

Etymology

From Mau Mau, the name of a group of anti-British insurgents in Kenya, who were noted in Europe for their (alleged) extreme violence and brutality.

Verb

mau-mau (third-person singular simple present mau-maus, present participle mau-mauing, simple past and past participle mau-maued)

  1. (transitive) To menace through intimidating tactics; to intimidate, harass; to terrorize.
    • 2005, Béla Szabados, Once Upon a Time in the West:
      It was my first experience with the phenomenon that would later be called "mau-mauing the flack catcher."

Derived terms

Catalan

Pronunciation

Noun

mau-mau m (plural mau-maus)

  1. a cocktail of sweet vermouth and soda

Indonesian

Etymology

Reduplication of mau.

Pronunciation

  • (Standard Indonesian) IPA(key): /ˌmau̯ ˈmau̯/ [ˌmau̯ ˈmau̯]
  • Rhymes: -au̯
  • Syllabification: mau-mau

Verb

mau-mau (active memau-mau, passive dimau-mau) (transitive, rare)

  1. synonym of peringin (to make or to cause to want)