Tag Archives: Fire & Fury

Top masher

Rereading Fire & Fury – Michael Wolff’s eye-popping account of life in the Trump White House – I came across a word I’d not encountered before:

‘Masher’? What’s a masher? Google to the rescue:

Excellent word! And the first I think I’ve come across where UK English has no synonym. The nearest I can think of are Terry Thomas type pre-war stuff: a cad, a bounder and the like. But none are as specific as the American term, denoting as they do a chap who’s a bit of a bad egg generally, rather than one who ‘mashes’ women.

Let’s hear it for the vigorous continuing growth of the language. Hoorah!