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Mug Jenn and I were walking downtown one cold afternoon. As usual, we were making stupid jokes that wouldnt be funny to anyone but us. ur laughter echoed through the streets. !e

were talking about some guy that was annoying us. I dont remember e"actly what was said, but at one point I described him as a #Mug. Jenn laughed and then looked pu$$led. %he asked me what I meant but I couldnt find the words to describe it. Its such a simple word, yet putting a definition to it seemed impossible. &hen I thought, what e"actly does it mean' I thought back to when the word was first spoken. It was around the same time of year, a year or two ago. My memory was a little foggy but as I thought harder it started to come back to me. It was on a wintry day in (ebruary that the word first came to use. My sister had asked me the same )uestion, but the word was slightly different then. #Mug actually deri*es from #mugger, a made up word I created my junior year of high school. I dont know why and I dont know how, but I started using this word on Myspace, back when the site was popular. I was always making up words, but this one was probably the stupidest. I think it was supposed to be a de*iation of #mother+f,,,er but time has pushed that memory to the back of my mind. -o one asked what it meant back then. &hey just accepted it as a real term. I would ne*er say the word aloud, not until I said it to my sister that (ebruary day. n Myspace, I usually used it as an ending of a sentence. It wasnt a noun, it wasnt a *erb. It was just a word. It could be used for both good or bad, but it was usually reser*ed for the bad. (or e"ample, .!hy werent you at school today' Mugger./ r .0ou look weird in that picture. Mugger1/ It sounds ridiculous, but I took the word *ery seriously. !hen I had said it to my sister, I used it as a noun for the first time. .2es such a mugger./ %he looked at me like I was cra$y. I felt a bit embarrassed saying it out loud since I

had ne*er done it before. .!hats that'/ After gi*ing little thought, I said, .Its a loser. 0ou know, a mugger./ I might ha*e tried to e"plain the #m+f origin. &he rest of the day we kept joking about the word. !e used it after e*erything. 4y the end of the day, it had changed from #mugger to #mug.# &his change was my sisters idea. %he thought #mugger was too long and .too stupid./ &hats what its been e*er since. I*e only used it regularly around my sister, my friend %ummer, and recently, Jenn. %o what is a #mug e"actly' I decided to look it up in the dictionary. &he first definition is the most familiar one5 a drinking cup. It was also defined as a thug or criminal. !hen used as a *erb, it means to commit robbery, to take a picture of someone, or to make an e"aggerated facial e"pression. &here was one definition that surprised me5 4ritish slang. a gullible person6 a dupe6 a fool. &his definition is *ery similar to my own. &he best definition I can pro*ide is this5
n. a fool6 a loser6 a person of low stature6 an annoying person6 can be used to describe oneself6 can also be used to describe objects that get in the way of what you are doing at the moment5 !hat a mug1 Im such a mug. !hy are you being a mug' Mug, get outta my way1

It is a *ery mobile word. %ome words that could compare would be loser, weirdo, stupid, fool. 2owe*er, mug is more e"pressi*e than all these words combined. Its in the way you say it that really brings out the emotion. 0ou cant simply say it. 0ou ha*e to say it. Its one of those words that, if you were to say it to someone on the street, e*en if they didnt know what it meant, they would know to be offended. !hen using it upon strangers, e*en people who do not know the meaning of the word, there are two ways to utili$e it5 as an insult or as friendly slang. !hen used as an insult, make sure you are asserti*e. 2owe*er, I ad*ise against using this word around just anyone. Its better to be muttered under the breath while walking away from the person who has just coughed all o*er your food while standing in line at the cafeteria. 7sing it as friendly slang is much more appropriate. 0ou insult them while hiding it under a friendly tone. Its like

calling your friend weird or stupid right to their face but smiling at the same time. &heyll ne*er know you mean it when, in actuality, you do. 9*en though #mug is commonly associated with negati*e characteristics, that is not always the case. An e"ample of this would be .Im as happy as a mug./ 2ere, mug has no real definition. It is just used as a way to describe the indescribable. &hats the beauty of the word. 4y just saying .mug,/ you are con*eying a plethora of emotions that no other word can e"press. :epending on how you say it, it can gi*e off different meanings. &he word can be used for *irtually anything in any conte"t, as long as its used as a noun. nce it is used as an adjecti*e, ad*erb, or *erb, it has lost its meaning. 7sing my definition, its impossible to use it as such, unless, of course, I begin to use it in such a way. %ince I am the owner, I can change the meaning and the use of it. If I decide a mug is a cat, then that is its new definition. 2owe*er, I would ne*er do such I thing. 0ou cannot say, .!hy are you being a mugging loser,/ or .I was mugging yesterday./ It doesnt work with the definition. It doesnt flow in sentences. It also cannot be used as a boring, ordinary word. !hen saying someone is a loser or someone is a fool, there is only one meaning that can be con*eyed. !hen saying someone or something is a mug, you are trying to e"press more than one meaning at the same time. &herefore, you must use the word carefully. A mug is a loser, but a loser is not necessarily a mug, and sometimes a mug isnt a loser at all. %o you ha*e to know when it is appropriate to use the word. 4ecause it is such a strong, descripti*e word, if you use it inappropriately, you may be saying something you dont mean to say. %o e*en though #mug can be used almost anytime, you ha*e to be careful you are using it correctly before you do. Also, if the word is just thrown around without any purpose, it will lose its meaning. &his has happened to many words o*er time, such as #success, #freedom, and #lo*e. ;eople ha*e o*erused these

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words causing their true definitions to be lost. If used properly and at the right times, this will not occur. =earning about the word mug is like learning a word from another language. &o truly learn it, you ha*e to use it. nce you hear it used and use it yourself, it will just flow from your

lips. It might take some practice, but soon it will be as normal as saying .golly+gee+whi$/ or .supercalifragilistice"pialidocious./ 0eah, its that easy. #Mug doesnt deser*e to be grouped with words like #cool, #awesome, or #epic. Its in a league of its own. Jenn is at the practicing stage now. %he is still learning its meaning and when to use it. 4ut the more she uses it, the better she gets. %oon, it will feel like shes been using the word since birth. &hats when you know you understand. &hats when you know you*e mastered the #mug.