muggle

plural muggles

1. datedin pluralslanguncountableMarijuana.First known use mid 1920s

   The boy said he had been in the habit of smoking something which youthful friends called "muggles," a childish name for marihuana.

   1963, Howard S[aul] Becker, Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance, New York, N.Y.: Free Press of Glencoe; London: Collier-Macmillan, →OCLC, page 142

   2 more examples

   But there was a drug in New Orleans, although it took me over nine months to find out anything about it—a drug of a very different and insidious kind! [...] It looked like chopped hay, or dried clover, and was rolled up in a double brown cigarette paper. In short, a "muggles", "weed", or "mootie", cannabis indica, Indian hemp, or, to give it its Mexican name, marijuana, which translated into English just means Mary Jane!

   1933, Cecil de Lenoir, “Way down South”, in The Hundredth Man: Confessions of a Drug Addict, London: Jarrolds […], →OCLC, page 220

   While marijuana was still legal in New York, businessmen wanted to package Mezz [Mezzrow]'s muggle and turn it into a high-powered criminal enterprise. While tempted, Mezz rejected those efforts, as well.

   2007, Ron Chepesiuk, “The White Mayor”, in Gangsters of Harlem: The Gritty Underworld of New York’s Most Famous Neighborhood, Fort Lee, N.J.: Barricade Books, →ISBN, page 62

   Synonyms: bhang, benj, boo, broccoli, bud, buddha, cannabis, cheeba

2. countabledatedslangA marijuana cigarette; a joint.First known use mid 1920s

   “Ever smoke any muggles?” he asked me. “Man, this is some golden-leaf I brought up from New Orleans, it’ll make you feel good, take a puff.”

   1946, Milton “Mezz” Mezzrow, Bernard Wolfe, “Quit Foolin’ with That Comb”, in Really the Blues, New York, N.Y.: Random House, book 1 (1899–1923: A Nothin’ but a Child), page 51

   4 more examples

   Marijuana is a variety of hemp weed (Cannabis sativa) long common in Mexico, lately becoming common in the U. S. Its leaves can be dried, ground and rolled into cigarets, which are bootlegged under the name of "muggles," "reefers," or "Mary Warners." Thinner, shorter than standard cigarets, "muggles" are made from the small delicate leaves of the female marijuana plant.

   1931 September 7, “Crime: Muggles”, in Time, New York, N.Y.: Time Warner Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 14 Oct 2014

   “[...] Eddie, what is this cigarette? It tastes a bit like opium.” / “It’s a ‘muggles’, kid—Mex marijuana; it won’t hurt you any if you don’t inhale too deeply, but you’ll pass out if you do. [...]”

   1933, Cecil de Lenoir, “Way down South”, in The Hundredth Man: Confessions of a Drug Addict, London: Jarrolds […], →OCLC, page 226

   Windy, muggle-smoking Louis Armstrong has never had patience or skill to build an orchestra of his own. He is happy strutting before any good hot band where he can introduce himself as "The Reverend Satchel Mouth" and proceed to triple-tongue a cornet at incredible speed.

   1933 June 12, “Hot Ambassador”, in Time, New York, N.Y.: Time Warner Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 01 Dec 2007

   But even then "muggle" smoking does not affect along a given pattern. "Afflicted with hallucinations of terrifying extent," [James Skelly] Wright said, "he is liable to run amok, leaving a trail of crime – even murder, in his wake." Case after case in which criminals have admitted smoking "muggles" indicates this is true, according to Wright.

   1938 July 1, Mansfield News Journal, Mansfield, Oh.: Mansfield Journal Co., →OCLC

   Synonyms: bifta, bifter, blunt, bogie, bomber, bone, bun, Camberwell carrot

plural muggles

1. Alternative letter-case form of Muggle.
   1. datedslangA person who has no magical abilities.

      The magical and the muggle are separated by a river, wide and deep. I could see across, but I couldn't get across, [...].

      2005, Christine Wicker, Not in Kansas Anymore: A Curious Tale of How Magic is Transforming America, New York, N.Y.: HarperSanFrancisco, →ISBN, page 194

      2 more examples

      As it was nearing Halloween, we were able to join a potions class where we could change liquids into myriad colours with the addition of substances like dragon spit (muggle’s lemon juice).

      2007 November 11, Lesley Oldfield, “Family break a eureka moment”, in Sunday Sun, Newcastle upon Tyne: Reach plc, →ISSN, →OCLC

      There's another guy playing [Bob] Dylan as a formal poet facing some kind of muggle inquisition, but this is the movie's briefest and least consequential thread.

      2007 November 21, Gary Thompson, “Dylan divided by six”, in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, Pa.: The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, →ISSN, →OCLC

   2. broadlydatedslangA person who lacks a particular ability or skill; a non-specialist; also, a person who is not a member of a group; an outsider.

      Some activists might know little of this ‘exterior’, such is their facility to move between activist spaces and places without having to encounter the ever-increasingly one-dimensional world in which the ‘muggles’ live.

      2005, David Harvie, Ben Trott, Keir Milburn, editors, Shut Them Down!: The G8, Gleneagles 2005 and the Movement of Movements, Leeds, West Yorkshire: Dissent!; Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.: Autonomedia, →ISBN, page 343

   3. broadlydatedslangspecificallyA person not involved in the pastime of geocaching.

      Try not to let the muggles see you find a Cache.

      2006, Wisconsin Natural Resources, Madison, Wis.: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 89

      3 more examples

      Use Stealth. Commonly used in a place with a high muggle-to-geocacher ratio.

      2010, Paul Gillin, Dana Gillin, “Appendix A: Glossary”, in The Joy of Geocaching […], Fresno, Calif.: Quill Driver Books, →ISBN, page 235

      Each time we made a find [Teresa] Hinton would check there were no muggles, or non-geocachers, around before taking the container from its hiding place.

      2016 February 16, Selina Powell, “The hidden world of geocaching in Marlborough”, in Marlborough Express (reproduced on Stuff), Blenheim, New Zealand: Stuff, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 May 2020

      Caches can be hidden in a disguised container, or very small package, and one element of difficulty is hiding caches in urban locations, where the hunter will have to avoid being spotted by ‘muggles’ – the name given to those unaware of the sport. Muggles will be surprised at the scale of the secret game taking place under their noses.

      2018 February 6, Joseph Smith, “The ‘dead drop’ in Stokes Croft may be more than it appears”, in Bristol Post, Bristol, Somerset: Reach plc, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 10 Feb 2018

      Antonyms: geocacher

present singular third person muggles · participle present muggling · participle past muggled · past muggled

1. datedslangtransitiveTo deface, destroy, or remove a geocache.

   Stolen or vandalized geocaches are termed "muggled" or "plundered".

   [2012, Allison Bruning, “Geocatching:^([sic – meaning Geocaching]) A Modern Day Treasure Hunt”, in Reflections: Poems and Essays, [Bloomington, Ind.?]: Mountain Springs House, →ISBN, page 118

   2 more examples

   Okay, September 3. That was just last Monday—Labor Day—so the geocache had been muggled sometime during the past week.

   2010, Katy Grant, chapter 1, in Hide and Seek, 1st trade paperback edition, Atlanta, Ga.: Peachtree Publishers, published 2012, →ISBN, page 14

   We returned the cache to its original place and left it just as we'd found it. If a cache is interfered with, it's deemed to have been "muggled" and this is severely frowned upon by the Geochaching^([sic]) community.

   2015 June 29, Dom Joy, “Dom Joly’s family geocaching treasure hunt in Spain and Portugal”, in The Independent, London: Independent News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 06 Sep 2015

present singular third person muggles · participle present muggling · participle past muggled · past muggled

1. IrelandUKdateddialectalintransitiveslangOften followed by along: to live or work in an unorganized and unplanned way; to muddle along.

   MUGGLE, [...] To muddle along, to live in a muddling, haphazard way.

   [1903, “MUGGLE, v.¹ and sb.²”, in Joseph Wright, editor, The English Dialect Dictionary: […], volume IV (M–Q), London: Henry Frowde, […], publisher to the English Dialect Society, […]; New York, N.Y.: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, →OCLC, page 195, column 1

   5 more examples

   And zo thay muggled along, 'till tha volks all begun to make giame on them.

   1872, Agrikler [pseudonym; Joseph Edwards], “Tha Man as Coodent Plaze Nubbody”, in Rhymes in the West of England Dialect. […], 2nd edition, Bristol, Somerset: Leech and Taylor, […], →OCLC, page 39

   I might have a made out to muggle along if so be Mister Jolly would a rised my wages, or the Union could a kept on taken care o' this last poor little un, till sich time as I might a married some'un to keep the childern tidy; [...]

   1873, [Edward Jenkins], “Justices’ Justice and Statutes at Large”, in Little Hodge, author’s edition, New York, N.Y.: Dodd & Mead, […], →OCLC, page 102

   She might truly be said "to muggle along;" everything in her house was in the greatest state of confusion, and, it must be added, dirt.

   1877 May, [Frances Hariott Wood], “The Old Red School-house”, in W[illiam] Meynell Whittemore, editor, Sunshine for 1877. […], number 185, London: William Poole, […], →OCLC, chapter VI (Widow Lawrence’s Story), page 77, column 2

   He rose to no eminence and got through life somehow, ‘muggled along,’ as Somersetshire people say.

   1889, [John Hutton Balfour Browne], “Popular”, in Times and Days: Being Essays in Romance and History, London; New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green, and Co. […], →OCLC, page 28

   "He has whiskers and whuskers but no wapers; / He whiffles and whaffles and muggles along;" / Thus ran the headlines of the morning papers; / The reporters all put to sea in a flong.

   1934, Margaret, Lady Rhondda, editor, Time and Tide, volume 15, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 1016, column 1

plural Muggles · alternative muggle

1. A person who has no magical abilities.

   The magical and the muggle are separated by a river, wide and deep. I could see across, but I couldn't get across, [...].

   2005, Christine Wicker, Not in Kansas Anymore: A Curious Tale of How Magic is Transforming America, New York, N.Y.: HarperSanFrancisco, →ISBN, page 194

   5 more examples

   Once again, THE magic-working Karmidee, marginalized by THE Muggle-ish Normals, are threatened by a coup in THE city's government [...]

   2005 April 1, “Kirkus Reviews, review of Charlotte Haptie, Otto and the Bird Charmers”, in Dow Jones

   In her second outing as a witch — the first being Practical Magic (1998) — Nicole Kidman plays Isabel, a witch who's trying to settle down to the Muggle life of a suburban housewife.

   2005 August 19, Felix Cheong, “Age-old sexism still pervades films about witches and wizards”, in Channel NewsAsia

   It could all be deadly earnest if she didn't have a sense of humor. My favorite sentence is a chapter title: "Every time you hear a bell, a Muggle has turned magical."

   2005 September 30, Jeffrey Weiss, “Review of Christine Wicker, Not in Kansas Anymore”, in The Dallas Morning News

   As it was nearing Halloween, we were able to join a potions class where we could change liquids into myriad colours with the addition of substances like dragon spit (muggle’s lemon juice).

   2007 November 11, Lesley Oldfield, “Family break a eureka moment”, in Sunday Sun, Newcastle upon Tyne: Reach plc, →ISSN, →OCLC

   There's another guy playing [Bob] Dylan as a formal poet facing some kind of muggle inquisition, but this is the movie's briefest and least consequential thread.

   2007 November 21, Gary Thompson, “Dylan divided by six”, in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, Pa.: The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, →ISSN, →OCLC

2. broadlyA person who lacks a particular ability or skill; a non-specialist; (also) a person who is not a member of a group; an outsider or cowan.

   This video game won’t appeal to muggles.

   3 more examples

   [...] I have finally worked out that the word ECNALUBMA in back-to-front writing translates as 'get out of my way, you Muggle motorist'.

   2003 May 14, “There are too many flashing lights nowadays for a knight of the road …”, in Nursing Standard

   Some activists might know little of this ‘exterior’, such is their facility to move between activist spaces and places without having to encounter the ever-increasingly one-dimensional world in which the ‘muggles’ live.

   2005, David Harvie, Ben Trott, Keir Milburn, editors, Shut Them Down!: The G8, Gleneagles 2005 and the Movement of Movements, Leeds, West Yorkshire: Dissent!; Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.: Autonomedia, →ISBN, page 343

   But to me, remembering what it was like to be a beginner is also an exercise in humility. I see a lot of people wanting to push ahead, faster, in all directions, and I find this to be… woefully out of step with even the Muggles who know me, […]

   2021 October 31, Ace Admiral [username], “Why is no one talking about the tip of the spear?: An^([sic]) reading of the asexual academy through Skopos Theory”, in A Hand-Painted China Plate at a Barbeque, WordPress, retrieved 02 Nov 2021

   Synonyms: basic bitch, bourgeois, L7, mainstreamer, mainstreamist, muggle, mundane, normal

   1. broadlyA person not involved in the pastime of geocaching.

      Try not to let the muggles see you find a Cache.

      2006, Wisconsin Natural Resources, Madison, Wis.: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 89

      4 more examples

      At some point when you're out geocaching, you'll run into Muggles. The trouble with Muggles is they have no idea what the sport of geocaching is all about. If they see you find a cache, they might get into the cache after you leave—to see what you were up to.

      2004, Joel McNamara, Geocaching for Dummies (For Dummies), Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, →ISBN, page 125

      Use Stealth. Commonly used in a place with a high muggle-to-geocacher ratio.

      2010, Paul Gillin, Dana Gillin, “Appendix A: Glossary”, in The Joy of Geocaching […], Fresno, Calif.: Quill Driver Books, →ISBN, page 235

      Each time we made a find [Teresa] Hinton would check there were no muggles, or non-geocachers, around before taking the container from its hiding place.

      2016 February 16, Selina Powell, “The hidden world of geocaching in Marlborough”, in Marlborough Express (reproduced on Stuff), Blenheim, New Zealand: Stuff, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 May 2020

      Caches can be hidden in a disguised container, or very small package, and one element of difficulty is hiding caches in urban locations, where the hunter will have to avoid being spotted by ‘muggles’ – the name given to those unaware of the sport. Muggles will be surprised at the scale of the secret game taking place under their noses.

      2018 February 6, Joseph Smith, “The ‘dead drop’ in Stokes Croft may be more than it appears”, in Bristol Post, Bristol, Somerset: Reach plc, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 10 Feb 2018

      Synonyms: basic bitch, bourgeois, L7, mainstreamer, mainstreamist, muggle, mundane, normal