mess

mess
noun
[usu. in sing.]

a dirty or untidy state of things or of a place
（物品，地方）凌乱；肮脏
she made a mess of the kitchen.
她把厨房弄得又乱又脏。
my hair was a mess.
我的头发乱极了。
■a thing or collection of things causing such a state
肮脏（或乱七八糟）之物
she replaced the jug and mopped up the mess.
她放好水壶，把脏处抹干净。
■a person who is dirty or untidy
肮脏（或不整洁）的人
I look a mess.
我看起来很邋遢。
■a portion of semi-solid or pulpy food, especially one that looks unappetizing
（尤指引不起食欲的）半干半稀的一份食物
a mess of mashed black beans and rice.
黑豆泥和米饭拌成的食物。
■[with modifier]used euphemistically to refer to the excrement of a domestic animal
(委婉)（家畜的）粪便
dog mess.
狗屎。
■(figurative)a situation or state of affairs that is confused or full of difficulties
(喻)混乱局面；困境
the economy is still in a terrible mess.
经济仍然一团糟。
■(figurative)a person whose life or affairs are confused or troubled
(喻)境地狼狈的人
he needs treatment of some kind—he's a real mess.
他需要某种治疗——他的境况真的很糟。
a building or room in which members of the armed forces take their meals
军人食堂
the sergeants' mess.
士官食堂。
(a mess of)(N. Amer. informal)a large amount or quantity of
(北美，非正式)大量的

verb

常用词组
mess with someone's head

(US informal)cause someone to feel frustrated, anxious, or upset
(美，非正式)使泄气；使担忧；使苦恼

语源

Middle English: from Old French mes 'portion of food', from late Latin missum 'something put on the table', past participle of mittere 'send, put'. The original sense was 'a serving of food', also 'a serving of liquid or pulpy food', later 'liquid food for an animal'; this gave rise (early 19th cent.) to the senses 'unappetizing concoction' and 'predicament', on which sense 1 is based. In late Middle English the term also denoted any of the small groups into which the company at a banquet was divided (who were served from the same dishes); hence, 'a group who regularly eat together' (recorded in military use from the mid 16th cent.)

继承用法
mess about/around

mess about/around with

mess someone about/around

(Brit. informal)cause someone inconvenience or problems, especially by acting unfairly or indecisively
(英，非正式)给…制造麻烦

mess up

(informal)mishandle a situation
(非正式)瞎弄；胡乱处理
he singled out the pit closures fiasco as an example of how the government has messed up.
他特举关闭矿井这一失败之举说明政府如何胡来。

mess someone up

mess something up

(informal)cause something to be spoiled by inept handling
(非正式)把（事情）弄糟
an error like that could easily mess up an entire day's work.
那样的错误会使一整天工作轻易付诸东流。

mess with

(informal)meddle or interfere with so as to spoil or cause trouble
(非正式)干涉；干预
stop messing with things you don't understand.
别再管你不懂的事了。

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