1611. Beaumont and Fletcher, Knight of the Burning Pestle, i. 2. Wife. Stay . . . till I question my husband. Cit. What is it, mouse.
1656. Muses Recr. [Hotten], p. 33. Even Mopsa, prety mouse.
4. (common).—The face.
5. (old).—The mouth. Also as verb. = to bite. Cf. mousle.
1557. Tusser, Husbandie [E.E.T.S. 91, 38, 3]. If foxes mouse them, then watch or house them.
1596. Shakspeare, King John, ii. 1. line 354. And now he feasts, mousing the flesh of kings.
1675. Wycherley, Country Wife, ii. 1. He told me none but naughty women sat there whom they tous'd and mous'd.
6. (common).—The same as mouse-piece (q.v.).
1888. N. Gould, Double Event, p. 223. He's turned mouse, has he?
Verb. (American).—To go mouse-like: i.e., as in depreciation of one's self. [A variant of mouch].
1871. S. L. Clemens ('Mark Twain'), Screamers. The poor blunderer mouses among the sublime creations of the old masters.
Intj. (old).—See quot.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v. Mouse. Be quiet; be still; talk low; whisper; step light; softly.
To speak like a mouse in a cheese, verb. phr. (old).—See quot.
1811. Lex. Bal., s.v. Mouse. To speak like a mouse in a cheese; i.e., faintly or indistinctly.
As drunk as a mouse, phr. (old).—Very drunk. See Drinks and Screwed.
c.1508[?]. Colin Blowboll's Testament, line 141. Oft hath made me dronke as any mouse.
153[?]. Doctour Doubble Ale [quoted by Halliwell]. Then seke another house, This is not worth a louse; As dronken as a mouse.
Mouse-digger, subs. (Winchester
College).—See quot.
1866. Mansfield, School Life, 150. Plying the mouse digger (a kind of diminutive pick-axe) in search of mice.
Mouser, subs. (venery).—The female
pudendum; the cat (q.v.).
For synonyms see Monosyllable.
Cf. Mouse, subs. sense 2.
Mouse-foot, subs. (old).—An oath.
1563. Appius & Virginius [Dodsley, Old Plays (1874), iv. 151]. Yet,by the mouse-foot, I am not content.
1601. A. Dent, Pathway, 142. I know a man that will never sweare but by Cocke, or Pie, or mouse foot. I hope you will not say these be oathes.
1605. London Prodigal, ii. 2. I'll come and visit you: by the mouse-foot I will.
Mouse-hunt, subs. (old colloquial).—A
wencher; a grouser (q.v.).
1595. Shakspeare, Romeo & Juliet, iv. 4. Aye, you have been a mouse-hunt in your time, But I will watch you from such watching now.
Mousepiece (Mouse-buttock, or
Mouse), subs. (colloquial).—A
piece of beef or mutton below
the round; the part immediately
above the knee joint.
1591. Lyly, Sappho and Phaon, i. 3. Aptly understood, a mouse of beef.
Mousetrap, subs. (common).—1.
The mouth; the potato-trap (q.v.).
2. (venery).—The female pudendum. For synonyms see Monosyllable. Cf. Mouse, subs. sense 2.
3. (common).—A sovereign; a canary (q.v.). [From a fancied resemblance of the crown and shield to a set trap].
