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Mince   /mɪns/   Listen
Mince

verb
(past & past part. minced; pres. part. minging)
1.
Make less severe or harsh.  Synonyms: moderate, soften.
2.
Walk daintily.
3.
Cut into small pieces.



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"Mince" Quotes from Famous Books



... I can but find him, I'll make mince-meat of him, were I to be broken alive on the ...
— The Impostures of Scapin • Moliere (Poquelin)

... bothers me he'll catch it warm," came from Tom. "I shan't attempt to mince matters with him. Everybody at this school knows what a bully he was, and they know, too, what a rascal he's been since he left. So I say, let him beware!" And so bringing the conversation to an end for the time being, Tom Rover ran across ...
— The Rover Boys In The Mountains • Arthur M. Winfield

... about the place, saying 'Well, Gussie.' That's about all the 'Well, Gussie' I shall require from you, Wooster. And it's no good looking like that. You know what I mean. That damned prize-giving! It was a dastardly act to crawl out as you did and shove it off on to me. I will not mince my words. It was the act of a hound and ...
— Right Ho, Jeeves • P. G. Wodehouse

... Winchester leaning against a tree on the camping-ground," said the would-be caller regretfully. "But you know you wouldn't fire on him, Cy, unless he came near making mince-meat of us. If he should charge, we could make a dash for the nearest trees. Let's risk it if we run ...
— Camp and Trail - A Story of the Maine Woods • Isabel Hornibrook

... very convenient," replied the Marquis, with still more vivacity, "but the proof that it is not true is that you yourself are filled with remorse at not having saved the soul so weak of that defenseless child. Ah, I do not mince the truth to myself, and I shall not do so to you. You remember the morning when you were so gay, and when you gave me the theory of your cosmopolitanism? It amused you, as a perfect dilettante, so you said, to ...
— Cosmopolis, Complete • Paul Bourget

... and hate mince-pies? When he looks at the sun does he wink his eyes, or Not, The Ahkond ...
— The Book of Humorous Verse • Various

... eye, Wreathed trunk and horny tegum- Ent, whom I have joyed to ply With the fugitive mince-pie And the seasonable legume, Youth has left me; fortune too Flounts my efforts to annex it; Still, I occupy the view, Bored but loath to leave, while ...
— Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 158, March 10th, 1920 • Various

... started it; a midnight golden-buck superimposed upon a miniature mince pie had, to his grief and indignation, continued an outrageous conspiracy against his liver begun by the shock of Hamil's illness. But what completed his exasperation was the indifference of the physicians attending Hamil who did not seem ...
— The Firing Line • Robert W. Chambers

... Herbes.—Mince equal parts of tarragon, chervil, and garden cress with half a shalot, mix them with a little butter, pepper, and salt, broil the steak and ...
— The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. VIII, No. 354, October 9, 1886 • Various

... shall be the mince pie. (Each announcement is received with a louder laugh by all the rest as the joke ...
— Androcles and the Lion • George Bernard Shaw

... thirty years, he had never felt greater pride or joy in his task. Was not his son John home for Christmas, and John's wife, and a grand-child newly named Nathaniel for himself? Were there not spareribs and turkeys and cranberries and mince pies on the pantry shelves, and barrels of rosy Baldwins in the cellar and bottles of mother's root beer just waiting to give a holiday pop? The bell itself forgot its age and the suspicion of a crack that dulled its voice on a damp day, and, inspired ...
— Homespun Tales • Kate Douglas Wiggin

... she drew Augustus, 'n' when she see 't she'd got Augustus she didn't mince matters none,—she jus' said she'd never have no Augustus in her house, not now 'n' not never, 'n' she put him right back, 'n' some one said 't it wasn't fair. But they shook the bowl up good, 'n' Gran'ma Mullins 'd been tryin' so hard to get a chance at it 't they ...
— Susan Clegg and Her Friend Mrs. Lathrop • Anne Warner

... Tuck, "I ain't forgettin' their innards, ef thet's what you're thinkin' of. You just tell Silas to kill four broilers, an' I'll clean 'em to-night. Thet'll give me a start, and to-morow I c'n do a few dozen pies. I hev got some mince-meat, thank goodness! an' you c'n get me in some of them early apples in the morning. Seems like I'm not going to sleep a ...
— Through stained glass • George Agnew Chamberlain

... lead you to think that I am hesitating now, or have changed my mind. It is only this—that the game is not won until the last card is played, and, while I am almost certain that I see the way now, there is still that last card to play. Do not let us mince matters, Jimmie. If I fail, you know what it means. But, in the bigger way, Jimmie, I can only count for but very little in the balance. There is the afterwards that is of far more moment—that justice, swift and sure, should ...
— The Further Adventures of Jimmie Dale • Frank L. Packard

... for No. 9. See that when the meat is cooked there is plenty of liquid. Thicken this mince and gravy with bread crumbs and let stand. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise, and steam or bake in a very slow oven. When about half cooked, scoop out the center of about each half. Be careful to save the vegetable ...
— The Khaki Kook Book - A Collection of a Hundred Cheap and Practical Recipes - Mostly from Hindustan • Mary Kennedy Core

... sturgeon or any solid white fish boiled until tender. Remove bone, mince fine, and season with salt, pepper, wine and lemon juice. 1 quart milk, boiled with two good-sized onions until they are in shreds. Rub to a cream 1/2 pound butter and two large tablespoonfuls of flour. Strain the boiling milk with this and return to the stew-pan and boil again, taking ...
— The Cookery Blue Book • Society for Christian Work of the First Unitarian Church, San

... could never have mustered that number without counting in all the sleepy horses, mules, cows, and pet dogs that roamed the streets like the rest of the inhabitants. The chief industry of the people of Kingston seemed to be that of selling school-books, mince-pies, and other necessaries of life to the boys at the Academy. The grown young men of the town spent their lives trying to get away to some other cities. The younger youth of the town spent their lives trying to interfere with the pleasures of the Kingston academicians. So ...
— The Dozen from Lakerim • Rupert Hughes

... the door to see that Hamet was out of hearing, and then returning, he said in a low voice: "Look here, Murray; it is of no use to mince matters; we are all prisoners here, at the mercy of as scoundrelly a tyrant as ever had power to make himself a ...
— The Rajah of Dah • George Manville Fenn

... so the Ruggleses—for a strong man is nothing to a small boy—and they kindled to the dessert as if the turkey had been a dream and the six vegetables an optical delusion. There was plum-pudding, mince-pie, and ice-cream, and there were nuts, and raisins, and oranges. Kitty chose ice-cream, explaining that she knew it "by sight," but hadn't never tasted none; but all the rest took the entire variety, ...
— The Birds' Christmas Carol • Kate Douglas Wiggin

... mince matters. "Jerry," he said abruptly, "did you and Prudence have a quarrel? She declines to tell me anything about it, and after the conversations you and I have had, I think I have a right ...
— Prudence of the Parsonage • Ethel Hueston

... said Josiah indulgently. There was a mince-pie warming on the back of the stove. He saw it there. "I didn't mean nuthin'. I'll be bound you thought she's dead, or you wouldn't ha' took such a step. I only meant, did ye see her death in the paper, for example, ...
— Tiverton Tales • Alice Brown

... I'll never say another word 'bout city folks being skeery. You ain't so bad for a tenderfoot. How'd you know enough to face them that way instead of running? If you'd run they'd trampled you all into mince meat! Steers ...
— Chicken Little Jane on the Big John • Lily Munsell Ritchie

... us nobly. He laid a table in the sitting-room. He materialised a cold turkey, a brown loaf, and some tomatoes; and he even achieved table-napkins. Gerald and Donkin on their part disappeared into the nether regions, and returned bearing mince-pies and cider. Some one else found champagne and opened it; and in a quarter of an hour we were left to ourselves by the benignant waiter round a comfortably loaded table, in a snug room with the fire burning and ...
— The Right Stuff - Some Episodes in the Career of a North Briton • Ian Hay

... of my Lord Monmouth; at present enjoying his favour, but dependent on his bounty. You may be the heir of his wealth to-morrow, and to-morrow you may be the object of his hatred and persecution. Your grandfather and myself are foes; bitter, irreclaimable, to the death. It is idle to mince phrases; I do not vindicate our mutual feelings, I may regret that they have ever arisen; I may regret it especially at this exigency. They are not the feelings of good Christians; they may be altogether to be deplored and unjustifiable; but they exist, mutually exist; and have not been ...
— Coningsby • Benjamin Disraeli

... this is Passover Day, you know. Well, you just climb in through the dining-room window, little Sarah,—Jane can help you,—and unlock my door, so I can go to the buttery and get some bread. Then I'll bring you out a nice saucer mince pie, and come back here, and you can lock me in. They'll never know; and I shall starve if you don't take pity ...
— Happy Days for Boys and Girls • Various

... you say, you are not a child. No more am I. We know the ropes, Francie, don't we? We've outgrown the delusions of boys and girls. We've had our experiences as man and woman—eh? You know what I mean. No need to mince matters—to go in for conventional nonsense—you and I. We can talk straight to each other at a time ...
— Sisters • Ada Cambridge

... when it reaches the cook; it then becomes a Plum, for Plum pudding has, as we all know, Raisins for its chief ingredient and certainly no Plums; and the Christmas pie into which Jack Horner put in his thumb and pulled out a Plum must have been a mince-pie, also made of Raisins; but how a cooked Raisin came to be called a Plum is not recorded. In Devonshire and Dorsetshire it undergoes a further transformation, for there Raisins are called Figs, and a Plum pudding is called a ...
— The plant-lore & garden-craft of Shakespeare • Henry Nicholson Ellacombe

... Then let the water cook away and begin adding the broth, in such quantity that the rice will be nearly dry when it is tender. Fry one chopped onion in the oil or fat. Some mushrooms cut up small are a very good addition to this "Soffritto". Mince the chicken giblets and add to the onion. Stir the mixture into the rice. Add grated cheese and a beaten egg just as the rice is taken from ...
— The Italian Cook Book - The Art of Eating Well • Maria Gentile

... a Florendine of Veal:—Take the kidney of a loin of veal, fat and all, and mince it very fine; then chop a few herbs, and put to it, and add a few currants; season it with cloves, mace, nutmeg, and a little salt; and put in some yolks of eggs, and a handful of grated bread, a pippin or two chopt, some candied lemon-peel minced small, some sack, sugar, ...
— Old Cookery Books and Ancient Cuisine • William Carew Hazlitt

... and went straight to Miss Ensor's bag and opened it. She shook her head at the contents, which consisted of a small, flabby- looking meat pie in a tin dish, and two pale, flat mince tarts. ...
— All Roads Lead to Calvary • Jerome K. Jerome

... having given vent to her feeling of injustice, was not concerned to mince her words: "You seem perfectly pleased with our separation, and indifferent how long it continues.... When I reflect on your behaviour, I am ashamed of my own: I think I am playing the part of my Lady Winchester. At least be as generous as My Lord; ...
— Lady Mary Wortley Montague - Her Life and Letters (1689-1762) • Lewis Melville

... troubles, which had, during the long hours of to-day's tedious drive, assumed really serious proportions, were soon forgotten as we sat down, in an incredibly short time, to a hearty meal of roast turkey and mince pies! We almost fell to wishing each other a Happy Christmas, and instinctively wondered if roast chestnuts would form part of the afternoon's programme. Unfortunately, chestnuts of an allegorical kind did enter into the proceedings. ...
— Argentina From A British Point Of View • Various

... concerning the famous town, to which I made my first voyage. And I think that with regard to a matter, concerning which I myself am wholly ignorant, it is far better to quote my old friend verbatim, than to mince his substantial baron-of-beef of information into a flimsy ragout of my own; and so, pass it off as original. Yes, I will render unto my honored guide-book ...
— Redburn. His First Voyage • Herman Melville

... myself, however, presume to descant on the subject of fried pies to the thousands who doubtless know all the details of their manufacture. Theodora first prepared her dough, sweetened and mixed like ordinary doughnut dough, rolled it like a thick pie crust and then enclosed the "filling," consisting of mince-meat, or stewed apple, or gooseberry, or plum, or blackberry; or perhaps peach, raspberry, or preserved cherries. Only such fruits must be cooked and the pits or stones of plums or peaches carefully removed. The edges of the dough were wet and dexterously crimped together, so ...
— When Life Was Young - At the Old Farm in Maine • C. A. Stephens

... When mince-pies you can't digest Join with waits to break your rest: When, oh when, to crown your woe, Persons who might better know Think it needful that you should Don a gay convivial mood;— Bear with fortitude and patience These afflicting dispensations: Man was born to suffer here: ...
— Lyra Frivola • A. D. Godley

... at the "Bull," kept whilom by "good John Grout," from whom FitzGerald procured the Scotch ale which he would set to the fire till it "just had a smile on it," and who every Christmas sent him a present of mince-pies and a jug of punch. An excellent man, and a mighty horse-dealer, better versed in horse-flesh than in literature. After a visit from Lord Tennyson, FitzGerald told Grout that Woodbridge should feel itself honoured. John had not quite understood, so presently took ...
— Two Suffolk Friends • Francis Hindes Groome

... Betty is very busy. What is she doing? She is paring apples, and chopping meat, and beating spice. What for, I wonder? It is to make mince-pies. Do you love mince-pies? Oh, they are ...
— Harry's Ladder to Learning - Horn-Book, Picture-Book, Nursery Songs, Nursery Tales, - Harry's Simple Stories, Country Walks • Anonymous

... whole sparingly practise. Their snuffy old scholars will even be proud to decry them. Where once the simians swung high through forests, or scampered like deer, their descendants will plod around farms, or mince along city streets, moving constrictedly, slowly, their litheness ...
— This Simian World • Clarence Day Jr.

... mind about the dinner, except the mince-pies. But Bell has a great many nice things—I don't mean nice eatable things, but nice new playthings, given to her always on her birthday; and everybody drinks her health, ...
— The Parent's Assistant • Maria Edgeworth

... and where all the bells were ringing for fire, or something else. She looked eagerly about for her uncle, and saw at least fifty men who resembled him, as she saw him last, about ten years ago. She fumbled nervously for his address in her pocket-book, and gave Mr. Newton a recipe for making mince pies instead; finally she found herself tumbled in among cushions and driving right into carriages and carts and people, who all got themselves mysteriously out of the way; down streets that she thought must surely be the ones that the bells were ringing for, ...
— Ester Ried • Pansy (aka. Isabella M. Alden)

... at her audacity, and Lemuel said, Yes, he would; and she said, "We'll give you a piece of real Willoughby Centre Mince-pie, if you will." ...
— The Minister's Charge • William D. Howells

... que j'aime! Ensemble nous devenons vieux. Depuis dix ans je te brosse moi-mme, Et Socrate n'et pas fait mieux. Quand le sort ta mince toffe Livrerait de nouveaux combats, Imite-moi, rsiste en philosophe: Mon vieil ...
— French Lyrics • Arthur Graves Canfield

... is the sin of using trite expressions—phrases, figures, metaphors, and quotations; such as—not to mince the matter, took occasion to, won golden opinions, the cynosure of all eyes, mental vision, smell of the lamp, read mark learn and inwardly digest, inclines towards, indulge in, it is whispered, staple topic of ...
— Journalism for Women - A Practical Guide • E.A. Bennett

... was no fear of our repeating what he said, Surajah. He is a frank, outspoken old soldier, and has evidently been so disgusted at the treatment of the prisoners that he could not mince his words; and yet, you know, he did not absolutely say that he had ...
— The Tiger of Mysore - A Story of the War with Tippoo Saib • G. A. Henty

... "because he can amble and mince more like a wench than any of us. The worse luck for him. He will have more speeches than any ...
— Unknown to History - A Story of the Captivity of Mary of Scotland • Charlotte M. Yonge

... a particular place and at a particular time, say at ten o'clock to-morrow morning, if he is drowning, but if he has a year to save it in, a year of controlling his appetites, of daily, detailed mastering of his spirit, of not taking a piece of mince pie, of stopping his work in time and of going to ...
— Crowds - A Moving-Picture of Democracy • Gerald Stanley Lee

... not mince the matter: he spoke out; For as the cash was telling down, in pops, All unexpected, Master Ctesipho: Cries out—"Oh AEschinus, are these your courses? Do you commit these crimes? and do you bring Such ...
— The Comedies of Terence • Publius Terentius Afer

... absurd laws and customs hoary with age. How they did hold up in their metaphysical tweezers the representatives of the dead past that ever and anon ventured upon our platform. With what peals of laughter their assumptions and contradictions were chopped into mince meat. On this occasion, William Lloyd Garrison occupied the seat of honor at Mrs. Mott's right hand, and led the conversation which the hostess always skillfuly managed to make general. When seated around her board, no two-and-two ...
— History of Woman Suffrage, Volume I • Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Matilda Joslyn Gage

... special department of Providence working on my case. Got a permanent assignment. And you are a Deputy Angel, Mrs. Jim. Gratitude! You couldn't get my brand of gratitude anywhere. They don't keep it in stock. Say the word and I will go back and eat a third piece of mince pie, and ...
— Homeburg Memories • George Helgesen Fitch

... they be, but my pashints? Ay, ye may lauch, Miss Julee, but wait till ye see them." He was then seized with a fit of candour, and admitted that some, even of his pashints, were colourless; indeed, not to mince the matter, six or seven of that sacred band were nullity in person. "I can compare the beggars to nothing," said he, "but the globules of the Do-Nothings; dee——d insipid, and nothing in 'em. But the others make up. Man alive, ...
— Hard Cash • Charles Reade

... of the eighteenth century, and the outburst of new ideals which was to follow. His Ossian is a cross between Pope's Homer and Byron's Childe Harold. His heroes and heroines are not on their native heath, and are uncertain whether to mince and strut with Pope or to follow nature with Rousseau's noble savages and Saint Pierre's Paul and Virginia. The time has gone when it was heresy to cast doubt upon the genuineness of MacPherson's epic, but if any one is still doubtful, ...
— The Religion of the Ancient Celts • J. A. MacCulloch

... Incognitos, however desirable, are out of the question. And thus aboard of all ships in which I have sailed, I have invariably been known by a sort of thawing-room title. Not,—let me hurry to say,—that I put hand in tar bucket with a squeamish air, or ascended the rigging with a Chesterfieldian mince. No, no, I was never better than my vocation; and mine have been many. I showed as brown a chest, and as hard a hand, as the tarriest tar of them all. And never did shipmate of mine upbraid me with a genteel disinclination ...
— Mardi: and A Voyage Thither, Vol. I (of 2) • Herman Melville

... ditch put in here. We only started a few days ago; them da—them no-account Swedes he got to do the rough work are so slow, we're liable to be at it all summer. How's everybody at the ranch? How's your mother, Miss Bridger? Has she got any mince pies baked?" ...
— The Long Shadow • B. M. Bower

... mince matters in directly addressing her. She is a brunette, with black eyes and black hair, yet black in nothing except her deeds, which have given her an evil reputation. She has sealed false bonds of ...
— Lippincott's Magazine Of Popular Literature And Science, April 1875, Vol. XV., No. 88 • Various

... Cakes, mince-pies nuts and apples, Good children get from the King. You can guess what the naughty get, The rods are the ...
— King Winter • Anonymous

... seasoning them well with salt, pepper and Cayenne. Add half a clove garlic, bay leaf, sprig thyme, one onion, all minced fine, also two cloves pounded, and a glass of sherry or Madeira. Keep boiling till the meat falls from the bones—take up then, remove bones, mince the meat fine, season it highly and return to the liquor, stirring it well through. Pour over the beef, let stand uncovered in a very cool place to harden. Serve in very thin slices—it will be like jelly. This is a cold-weather dish, as even an ice-box will not harden the ...
— Dishes & Beverages of the Old South • Martha McCulloch Williams

... There is a good deal of Polonius in Hesiod, who addresses his Works and Days to his brother Perses, a bad lot. Perses in fact had diddled him out of his patrimony, or part of it, by bribing the judges at Thespiae; and the poet, who doesn't mince matters, loses no opportunity of telling him what he thinks of him. Indeed, one of Hesiod's reasons for instructing him in good farming was that thereby he might perhaps prevent him from spunging on his relations. So the injured bard got a sad, exalted pleasure out of his griefs, and something ...
— In a Green Shade - A Country Commentary • Maurice Hewlett

... was very snug and warm and full of business, as well as savoury odours, when they reached it. Fanny had a large Christmas cake out cooling on the table, and mince pies and tartlets all ready to go into the oven, while on a clean white cloth at one end of the table were laid half a dozen large saffron cakes and a lot of saffron ...
— Kitty Trenire • Mabel Quiller-Couch

... broiled fish and roasted fowls and mutton and towering spiced hams and sweet potatoes and mince ...
— In the Days of Poor Richard • Irving Bacheller

... party frock has a baggy front, so I can carry a lot. I could get a whole cheese-cake in when no one was looking. Or would you rather have a mince pie?" ...
— Pixie O'Shaughnessy • Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey

... Tomps's ribs— an' so would you—! Fer he had riz an' faced around, An' stood there, smilin', as they brung The turkey in, all stuffed an' browned— Too sweet fer nose, er tooth, er tongue! With sniffs o' sage, an' p'r'aps a dash Of old burnt brandy, steamin'-hot Mixed kindo' in with apple-mash An' mince-meat, an' the Lord knows what! Nobody was a-talkin' then, To 'filiate any awk'ardness— No noise o' any kind but jes The rattle o' the dishes when They'd fetch 'em in an' set 'em down, An' fix an' change ...
— Afterwhiles • James Whitcomb Riley

... induced to hold his tongue, his mere presence in a corner of the drawing-room, with his open-air wrinkles, his scanty hair, his battered hands, and the cheerful craftiness of his expression, advertised the whole gang of us for a self-made family. My aunt might mince and my cousins bridle, but there was no getting over the solid, physical fact of the stonemason ...
— The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 13 (of 25) • Robert Louis Stevenson

... Patterson, went to re-present the doll. The sewing-machine was silent for once, and the Callahan family was seated around a table spread with turkey, cranberry sauce, ham, pickles, mashed potatoes, baked sweet potatoes, cabbage, cake, mince pie, ice-cream, ...
— Honey-Sweet • Edna Turpin

... Why, my lord, do you mince the matter? For heart, say courage. You may speak as plain in Miss Byron's presence, as you did before she came: I ...
— The History of Sir Charles Grandison, Volume 4 (of 7) • Samuel Richardson

... old huntsman advise you. I have seen the animal—actually seen him—a terrible boar, I promise you, as black as ink, clean legs, and ears well apart,—all true signs of courage. As sure as my name is Serpolet, he will make mince-meat of us—sure to charge. Take my advice, Monsieur; never mind what the gentlemen say about waiting; don't you let him get nearer to you than five-and-twenty paces; if not, in three bounds he will be at you; and in another second you will be opened like an oyster. Take care, Monsieur!"—and, wishing ...
— Le Morvan, [A District of France,] Its Wild Sports, Vineyards and Forests; with Legends, Antiquities, Rural and Local Sketches • Henri de Crignelle

... passed round somebody else may have my share. I'll stick to the mince pie a la mode. And the first cigar of my convalescence—ah, that, too, abides as a vivid memory! Dropping in one morning to replace the wrappings Doctor Z said I might smoke in moderation. So the nurse brought me a cigar, and I lit it and took one deep puff; but only ...
— "Speaking of Operations—" • Irvin S. Cobb

... steamer he bade me notice a young gentleman (whom I was destined to know in after years), a man with curly hair and very foppish air, accompanied by a page "in an eruption of buttons," and told me that it was N. P. Willis. And so revelling in romance and travel, with mince-pie and turkey for my daily food, my pocket stuffed with money, in the most refined and elegant literary society (at least it was there on deck), I came to Philadelphia. I may here say that the memory of Mr. Carlisle has made me through all my life kinder to boys than I might otherwise ...
— Memoirs • Charles Godfrey Leland

... pedestal and do our own housework, cookin', washin' dishes, sweepin', moppin', cleanin' lamps, blackin' stoves, washin', ironin', makin' beds, quiltin' bed quilts, gittin' three meals a day, day after day, biled dinners and bag puddin's and mince pies and things, to say nothin' of custard and pumpkin pies that will slop over on the level, do the best you can; how could you keep 'em inside the crust histin' yourself up and down? ...
— Samantha at the St. Louis Exposition • Marietta Holley

... some temper and despite, contained certain elements of shrewd insight and sound common sense, which she had doubtless inherited from her father. She had something of the boldness and independence of mind that a spoiled child not unfrequently acquires, and she was not accustomed to mince her words ...
— The Lost Treasure of Trevlyn - A Story of the Days of the Gunpowder Plot • Evelyn Everett-Green

... on the window-seat again; and forced himself to put his arm around that fair maiden body, destined to be the prize, one day, of some man's love; the prey—for he disdained to mince matters, turning the knife in the wound rather—the prey of some man's lust. He schooled himself, while Damaris' heart beat a little tempestuously under his hand, to invite a conclusion which through every ...
— Deadham Hard • Lucas Malet

... or mince vegetables and various other food rapidly by placing the little device, as shown, on a chopping board. Ii is an ordinary staple, driven in just far enough to allow a space for the end of an ordinary pointed kitchen knife to ...
— The Boy Mechanic: Volume 1 - 700 Things For Boys To Do • Popular Mechanics

... of beef, the breast of veal, the powdered goose, the noble dish of sheepshead and bluefish, and the pasty in which was entombed a whole flock of pigeons. These pieces de resistance were flanked by bowls of oysters, by rows of wild fowl skewered together, by mince pies and a grand salad, while upon the outskirts of the damask plain were stationed trenchers piled with wheat bread, platters of pease and smoking potatoes, cauliflower and asparagus, and a concoction of rice and prunes, seasoned with mace and cinnamon ...
— Prisoners of Hope - A Tale of Colonial Virginia • Mary Johnston

... vicar, and more fortunately still, he was persuaded to stay and dine with him. It would have been rather awkward to have had him present at the display of family washing which took place that evening. Mr. Ponsonby did not mince matters; he said, perhaps not altogether without justice, that he had had about enough of the Polkingtons. He also said he wanted the truth, and seeing that his sister had long ago found that about ...
— The Good Comrade • Una L. Silberrad

... week beforehand, "we children" were employed in chopping mince for pies to a most wearisome fineness, and in pounding cinnamon, all-spice, and cloves in a great lignum-vitae mortar; and the sound of this pounding and chopping reechoed through all the rafters of the old house with a hearty and vigorous cheer ...
— Good Cheer Stories Every Child Should Know • Various

... had no sword, but the blow he gave him silenced his foul tongue for a week. Instantly the room was turned into a shambles. 'Twas no time to mince words or blows, and we did neither. Nor were we two left alone to withstand all the rest; for the gentleman of the party (whom I have mentioned), sided with us, as did also the sea captain, who owed mine host ...
— Sir Ludar - A Story of the Days of the Great Queen Bess • Talbot Baines Reed

... belief of a perfect understanding between the different parties. They probably numbered a dozen altogether, and had determined to bring the friendly Indian and two white men to account for the outrage of the young Shawanoe—for, brief as was the time mince it had been perpetrated, it was more than probable that ...
— The Lost Trail - I • Edward S. Ellis

... Marsilly's capture, giving out that he was conspiring against his life. Monsieur told Montague that he need not beg for the life of a would-be murderer like Marsilly. But as to this idea, "they begin now to mince it at Court," and Ruvigny assured du Moulin "that they had no such thoughts." De Lyonne had seen Marsilly and observed that it was a blunder to seize him. The French Government was nervous, and Turenne's secretary had been "pumping" several ambassadors as ...
— The Lock and Key Library/Real Life #2 • Julian Hawthorne

... wit here,' he said to me, in the course of conversation. 'You need not believe that. I'm simply an embittered man, and I do my railing aloud: that's how it is I'm so free and easy in my speech. And why should I mince matters, if you come to that; I don't care a straw for anyone's opinion, and I've nothing to gain; I'm spiteful—what of that? A spiteful man, at least, needs no wit. And, however enlightening it may be, you won't believe it.... I say, now, I ...
— A Sportsman's Sketches - Volume II • Ivan Turgenev

... a little dazed, but they didn't have time to comment. The toss-up was rushed through and the two teams lined up, our team with the ball. It would have done your eyes good to see Rearick adjust it carefully on a small doily in the exact center of the field, mince up to it and kick it like an old lady urging a setting hen off the nest. A Kiowa halfback caught it and started up the field. Right at him came Birdie Andrews, hat in hand, and when the halfback ...
— At Good Old Siwash • George Fitch

... call it, and they had some sines hangin' on the walls in thar that jist about made me laff all over. I noticed one sine sed "Put your trust in the Lord," and right under it wuz another sine what sed "Try our mince pies." Wall, I tried one of them, and I want to tell you right now, if you eat many of them mince pies you want to put your trust ...
— Uncles Josh's Punkin Centre Stories • Cal Stewart

... cook sat down to peel potatoes and study the mechanics of Kitchencraft. She found much to baffle her in the array of pots and pans, and in the workings of the range. From a cupboard she took out mince-meat choppers, potato mashers, cream whippers, egg-beaters, and other utensils, gazing at them in total ignorance of their functions. Mrs. Kent had indicated jugged hare and mashed potatoes for lunch, and after some scrutiny of the problem Eliza ...
— Kathleen • Christopher Morley

... pompous page: But (happy for him as the times went then) Appear'd Apollo's may'r and aldermen, On whom three hundred gold-capt youths await, To lug the pond'rous volume off in state. "When Dulness, smiling—'Thus revive the wits! But murder first, and mince them all to bits! As erst Medea (cruel, so to save!) A new edition of old AEson gave; Let standard authors thus, like trophies borne, Appear more glorious as more hack'd and torn. And you my Critics! in the chequer'd ...
— Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 58, Number 358, August 1845 • Various

... her neck a rich gold watch and chain, which no mortal eyes but the jeweller's had ever beheld before. Then, the old church bell rang as gaily as it could, and they all returned to breakfast. 'Vere does the mince-pies go, young opium-eater?' said Mr. Weller to the fat boy, as he assisted in laying out such articles of consumption as had not been duly arranged on ...
— The Pickwick Papers • Charles Dickens

... wager ten thousand piasters that behind that cloud are Mejia and his braves," exclaimed Carmen, excitedly. Hijo de Dios! Won't they make mince-meat of the Spaniard? How I wish I were with them! Shall ...
— Mr. Fortescue • William Westall

... You have been dining on S——'s leathery beef-steak, which I have so frequently warned you against, and, what is worse, you have had mince pie for dessert. Your digestion is seriously deranged. For old friends like you and me to quarrel over a little chit of a girl, is as absurd as committing suicide because you have scratched your hand with a pin. If your heart is ...
— Ilka on the Hill-Top and Other Stories • Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen

... young woman too. But you don't know Miss Lloyd. She is haughty and wilful. And as I told you, nobody has mentioned her yet in this connection. But I am speaking to you alone, and I have no reason to mince matters. And you know Florence Lloyd is not of the Crawford stock. The Crawfords are a fine old family, and not one of them could be capable of crime. But Miss Lloyd is on the other side of the house, a niece ...
— The Gold Bag • Carolyn Wells

... table this clear Thanksgiving noon; I smell the crispy turkey, the pies will come in soon,— The golden squares of pumpkin, the flaky rounds of mince, Behind the barberry syrups, the ...
— Our Young Folks, Vol 1, No. 1 - An Illustrated Magazine • Various

... good will that do? He would not look at, much less speak to, such a sloppy stripling as you. To the right-about—march! or I'll make mince-meat of you in less ...
— Graham's Magazine Vol XXXII No. 1 January 1848 • Various

... penitence; but by the time Mr. Froggatt drove the sisters home, and Wilmet wondered that she could not go out for a night without some one being ill, he had arrived at a state which she could be left to attribute to Mrs. Froggatt's innocent mince-pies. ...
— The Pillars of the House, V1 • Charlotte M. Yonge

... a thin slice of bread toasted very lightly; divide it into sippets, and lay them round the dish: pour the mince and sauce into the middle of it, and split the feet, ...
— The Cook's Oracle; and Housekeeper's Manual • William Kitchiner

... will be just lovely," they said, "and we'll have a perfectly scrumptious time. Do you like pie? We've got a whole big jar full of mince meat." ...
— Roy Blakeley's Camp on Wheels • Percy Keese Fitzhugh

... for his fault by magnanimity in sharing with others what he could not relish alone. He gave liberally to all his mates, and carried a large piece of the turkey, together with a generous supply of stuffing, and an entire mince pie, to his old ...
— The Drummer Boy • John Trowbridge

... cakes Rice milk for a dessert To make puff paste To make mince-meat for pies To make jelly from feet A sweet-meat pudding To make an orange pudding An apple custard Boiled loaf Transparent pudding Flummery Burnt custard An English plum pudding Marrow pudding Sippet pudding Sweet potato pudding An ...
— The Virginia Housewife • Mary Randolph

... his favour, but dependent on his bounty. You may be the heir of his wealth to-morrow and to-morrow you may be the object of his hatred and persecution. Your grandfather and myself are foes—to the death. It is idle to mince phrases. I do not vindicate our mutual feelings; I may regret that they have ever arisen, especially at this exigency. Lord Monmouth would crush me, had he the power, like a worm; and I have curbed his proud fortunes ...
— The World's Greatest Books, Vol III • Arthur Mee and J.A. Hammerton, Eds.

... with the blacksmithing profession. Not exactly at the forge in the Lafittes' famous smithy, among the African Samsons, who, with their shining black bodies bared to the waist, made the Rue St. Pierre ring with the stroke of their hammers; but as a—there was no occasion to mince the word ...
— Madame Delphine • George W. Cable

... Montfort was no man to mince words, and it is doubtless that the old reprobate who sued for his daughter's hand heard some unsavory truths from the man who had twice scandalized England's nobility by his rude and discourteous, though true and candid, speeches to ...
— The Outlaw of Torn • Edgar Rice Burroughs

... flirting her fan and tossing her head, on which she wore a great pink turban, contrasting oddly with her blue brocade dress and yellow quilted petticoat. She was obliged to walk carefully, for she had on highheeled shoes, and, as Laurie told Jo afterward, it was a comical sight to see her mince along in her gay suit, with Polly sidling and bridling just behind her, imitating her as well as he could, and occasionally stopping to laugh or exclaim, "Ain't we fine? Get along, you fright! Hold your tongue! Kiss ...
— Little Women • Louisa May Alcott

... of life. The daughter of a Rural Dean, she appeared at her best when seated, having rather short legs. Her face was well-coloured, her mouth, firm and rather wide, her nose well-shaped, her hair dark. She spoke in a decided voice, and did not mince her words. It was to her that her husband, Sir James, owed his reactionary principles ...
— Forsyte Saga • John Galsworthy

... sympathetic about Miss Bettie. Neither is there anything in the earth below or the heavens above that she has not an opinion of her own about, but the one concerning which she has the most decided opinions is Man. She doesn't mince matters when she gets on him. Also, she is an authority on God. She can tell you exactly why He does things, and she quotes Him as if He were her most confidential friend, and the only thing which stumps her is why He made such a mess of what is considered His most important ...
— Kitty Canary • Kate Langley Bosher

... were left behind Charley heaved a sigh of relief. "They are crocodiles," he explained, seeing his chum's look of surprise. "Alligators are harmless, generally speaking, but if one of those fellows should upset you, you'd be chewed up into mince meat in a jiffy. But here's island number one. I guess we do not care about landing there now, do we? The bigger one looks far more promising, let's ...
— The Boy Chums in the Forest - or Hunting for Plume Birds in the Florida Everglades • Wilmer M. Ely

... hinted that breakfast should be a little earlier, adding timidly that he might use a little more ingenuity in the breakfast menu, and at the first grey streak of dawn breakfast was announced, and, dressing hurriedly, we sat down to what Sam called "Pump-pie-King pie with raisins and mince." The expression on Sam's face was celestial. No other word could describe it. There was also an underlying expression of triumph which made me suspicious of his apparent ingenuousness, and as the lubras had done little else but make faces at themselves ...
— We of the Never-Never • Jeanie "Mrs. Aeneas" Gunn

... his horses (and fed them generously with oats), and then went to the house to ask for "a leetle something hot—mince pie or sassidge." His request was very modest, but, as a matter of fact, he sat down and ate a very hearty breakfast, while the boys worked away at the fire under ...
— Other Main-Travelled Roads • Hamlin Garland

... for dessert at that repast. Of these the most important is nougat, without which Christmas would be as barren in Provence as Christmas would be in England without plum-pudding or in America without mince-pies. Besides being sold in great quantities by town confectioners, nougat is made in most country homes. Even the dwellers on the poor up-land farms—which, being above the reach of irrigation, yield uncertain harvests—have their own almond-trees and their own bees to make ...
— The Christmas Kalends of Provence - And Some Other Provencal Festivals • Thomas A. Janvier

... "this is no time to mince matters. If the boy can't be stopped—and under the circumstances he's got us on toast—he can't cry off active service—as the boy can't be stopped, you must just keep this news ...
— Peter's Mother • Mrs. Henry De La Pasture

... boys, all rather warm and excited, were requested to go into the kitchen and carry refreshments to the girls, and our boy and Liddy were soon ensconced in a cosy corner with two plates filled with a medley of frosted cake, mince pie, tarts and the like, and as happy as two birds in a nest. It was the first time he had ever eaten with her, and an event in his life of no small importance. They also talked as fast as they ate. She told him all her little plans about going to the village academy the next ...
— Pocket Island - A Story of Country Life in New England • Charles Clark Munn

... Mince two large onions very fine, and fry in 1 oz. of butter; add 3 oz. of "Proto-Savoury," one dessertspoonful of Nutril, 1 oz. of breadcrumbs (or "Procrums"), and one egg. Scoop the seeds from one large vegetable marrow, ...
— The Healthy Life, Vol. V, Nos. 24-28 - The Independent Health Magazine • Various

... mean to hurt your feelings," she said soothingly. "I — I was only fooling. Will you have a piece of hot mince pie? It's just out of ...
— The Rover Boys on the Ocean • Arthur M. Winfield

... good-cheer, good work and an earnest wish to do better tomorrow than he had done today. That Nature occasionally produces such a man should be a cause for gratitude in the hearts of all the rest of us little folk who jig, mince, mouth, amble, run, peek about and ...
— Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, Volume 5 (of 14) • Elbert Hubbard

... drawn knife in his hand, and the captain armed with a handspike. They had exhausted their vocabulary of abuse, but neither was disposed to invade the enemy's territory. At last Dyer cried out "Come ashore you d——d English hog, and I'll make mince meat of you!" I shall never forget the expression of the captain's face at this cruel taunt. He was literally struck speechless for a moment; then turning to me and drawing himself up with a thumb in his arm-hole, and the handspike over his shoulder, he exclaimed, "Now, sir, isn't that ...
— The Narrative of a Blockade-Runner • John Wilkinson

... composing music or painting pictures, then compromise is in the very fabric of it. Getting different themes or colors that would like to be contradictory, to work together; developing a give and take. What's the important thing? To have a life that's full and good and serviceable, or to mince along through it with two or ...
— Mary Wollaston • Henry Kitchell Webster

... looking at her, "no wonder you made mince-meat of the Honorable Heth. Where did you learn it ...
— The Crossing • Winston Churchill

... to evenin' meetin's," answered Abel, throwing away discretion and morality together. "I tell you I'm goin' to spend this sugar-money just as we've a mind to. You've worked hard, an' counted a good while on comin', and so've I; an' I ain't goin' to mince my steps an' pinch an' screw for nobody. I'm goin' to hire one o' them hacks an' ride up ...
— The Life of Nancy • Sarah Orne Jewett

... deir names was Dorcas and Priscilla. When de pies got dry, she'd take them under de big oak tree, fetch out de dolls and talk a whole lot of child mother talk 'bout de pies, to de Dorcas and Priscilla rag dolls. It was big fun for her tho' and I can hear her laugh right now lak she did when she mince 'round over them dolls and pies. Dere was some poor folks livin' close by and she'd send me over to 'vite deir chillun over to play wid her. They was name Marshall. Say they come from Virginny and was kin to de ...
— Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves • Works Projects Administration

... did not mince matters. It was all well enough for a girl to have her own way as Milly had had hers, but now she had made a nice mess of things,—put them all in a ridiculous position. Who was she to be so particular, to consider herself such a queen? etc., etc. Milly took it all in silence. ...
— One Woman's Life • Robert Herrick

... be thoroughly washed, or worms may pass into the system. Foul breath, picking the nose, restlessness, fever and startings are often attributed to worms, when the real "worms" are mince pies, raisins, sour apples, and ...
— Epilepsy, Hysteria, and Neurasthenia • Isaac G. Briggs

... not a bit of the handspike could be seen,—save some trifling fragments of the fibrous wood that floated on the surface of the water; but what gave greater gratification to those who saw them, was the fact that the shark which had thus made "mince-meat" of the piece of timber was itself no longer to ...
— The Ocean Waifs - A Story of Adventure on Land and Sea • Mayne Reid

... be served by the host or arranged in a dainty mince and served in shells to the separate guests. If served by the host, potatoes very daintily cooked may ...
— The Etiquette of To-day • Edith B. Ordway

... was cracked and the quicksilver rubbed off or discolored in many places. When it reflected your face you had the singular pleasure of not recognizing yourself. It gave your features the appearance of having been run through a mince-meat machine. But what rendered the looking-glass a thing of enchantment to me was a faded green feather, tipped with scarlet, which drooped from the top of the tarnished gilt mouldings. This feather Washington took ...
— The Story of a Bad Boy • Thomas Bailey Aldrich

... butter in a frying pan; mince a large onion, and fry it in the butter until nicely browned, and add to the stock in which the head was cooked. Return the bones to the stock; simmer the soup, removing the scum until no more rises. Put in a carrot, a turnip, a bunch ...
— Fifty Soups • Thomas J. Murrey

... making "pies of young chickens, of fresh venison, of veal, of eels, of bream and salmon, of young rabbits, of pigeons, of small birds, of geese, and of narrois" (a mixture of cod's liver and hashed fish). We may mention also the small pies, which were made of minced beef and raisins, similar to our mince pies, and which were hawked in the streets of Paris, until their sale was forbidden, because the trade encouraged greediness on the one hand and laziness ...
— Manners, Custom and Dress During the Middle Ages and During the Renaissance Period • Paul Lacroix

... surprising turn of events for the highwayman. At first he listened silently, too much astonished to speak. Leonard however did not mince matters, and before he had finished his exhortation the other man was in a furious rage. Never before had any of his victims treated him in this fashion. Curses, tears, despair, those were all to be expected in his 'profession'; but this extraordinary man was neither beseeching ...
— A Book of Quaker Saints • Lucy Violet Hodgkin

... nickname for most of their officers, especially those whom they may chance to like or dislike more than the rest, he always went by the sobriquet of "glass-eye"; and it was wonderful how this dandy chap who was so particular in his dress and would mince his words in conversation with his brother officers in the wardroom, speaking with a lisp of affectation and a languid air as if it were too much trouble to articulate distinctly, would, when the ...
— Crown and Anchor - Under the Pen'ant • John Conroy Hutcheson

... to his army, Mahmoud II turned his attention to Asia Minor; where Ali's sons would probably have been forgotten in their banishment, had it not been supposed that their riches were great. A sultan does not condescend to mince matters with his slaves, when he can despoil them with impunity; His Supreme Highness simply sent them his commands to die. Veli Pacha, a greater coward than a woman-slave born in the harem, heard his sentence kneeling. ...
— Celebrated Crimes, Complete • Alexandre Dumas, Pere

... had cast her off, Widow Ashby's Sabrina took to her bed and there she meant to stay, so she said, the rest of her life. Or—until she got a sign that would give her heart ease. Sabrina Ashby didn't mince her words either. "I don't care what the sign may be," she said it right out, before Granny Withers. That toothless creature cackled and replied, "I'm ...
— Blue Ridge Country • Jean Thomas

... led me about, and poked me in and out of the carriage, as if I was blind already; it put me almost in a rage. Then as soon as we came home,—about half an hour ago, I should think,—he told it all straight out to my mother, did not mince matters, I assure you: indeed, I believe they both forgot I was there. They are apt to forget me, you know. He regularly stormed about the neglect, and told her it was all her fault; and while this was going on, I found I had heard the worst, and I did not want to be pitied, ...
— The Two Guardians • Charlotte Mary Yonge

... Christmas, innumerable boxes of "eats" are shipped to the midshipmen from all over the United States, their contents usually governed by the section of the world from which they are forwarded. New England invariably sends its quota of mince pies, roast turkeys and the viands which furnish forth a New England table at Yuletide. The South and ...
— Peggy Stewart at School • Gabrielle E. Jackson

... 'em an' much obliged. I declare it seems to me, now the rhubarb's 'bout gone, as if the apples on the trees never would fill out enough to drop off. There does come a time in the early summer, after you're sick of mince, 'n' squash, 'n' punkin, 'n' cranberry, 'n' rhubarb, 'n' custard, 'n' 't ain't time for currant, or green apple, or strawb'ry, or raspb'ry, or blackb'ry—there does come a time when it seems as if Providence might 'a' had a little more ingenuity in plannin' pie-fillin'!—You ...
— Ladies-In-Waiting • Kate Douglas Wiggin

... is attained not only at the expense of aesthetics, but of comfort. The custom of fastening growing girls in tight corsets, of flattening their breasts with pads, of distorting their feet in small high-heeled shoes, and of teaching them to stoop and mince in gait, is calculated to disgust every observer of good sense and taste, and, what is of more consequence, to render these girls, when they become women, more liable to every species of ...
— The Physical Life of Woman: - Advice to the Maiden, Wife and Mother • Dr. George H Napheys

... "O! Madam," said my Lady Anson, "I can sit like a nightingale, with my breast against a thorn;") in short, that, not content with so much wit, she proposes to entertain the town to the tune of Doctors' Commons. She does not mince her disappointments: here is an epigram that has been ...
— The Letters of Horace Walpole, Volume 2 • Horace Walpole

... cry so, Miss Fabens!—as I was goin' to say—I dremp a shaggy wolf ketched 'im, and craunched the little feller down, as ye'd eat a tender quail. Miss Fabens, don't cry now!—he was all out o' misery perty quick. I dremp he was dead afore he was stript, or his little dimple hands was chanked to mince-meat; don't ...
— Summerfield - or, Life on a Farm • Day Kellogg Lee

... native dishes. Our mince and pumpkin pies were home products, as well as our apple-butter and a variety of other preserves. Also, I had discovered a bed of wild cress in the brook and our brown turkey was garnished with that piquant green. Certainly there was an old-fashioned feeling ...
— Dwellers in Arcady - The Story of an Abandoned Farm • Albert Bigelow Paine

... MOTHER. My Lord Cardinall of Loraine, tell me, How likes your grace my sonnes pleasantnes? His mince you see runnes on his minions, And all his heaven is to delight himselfe: And whilste he sleepes securely thus in ease, Thy brother Guise and we may now provide, To plant our selves with such authoritie, That ...
— Massacre at Paris • Christopher Marlowe

... disagrees with me, however much I take of it. No more do mince-pies, no matter how many I eat. Steaming hot-and-strong gin-punch is the most wholesome beverage; so, also, is brandy-punch. It can't harm anybody who, on the Pickwickian principle, "takes enough of it." Both beverages go admirably ...
— Punch, Or The London Charivari, Vol. 99., December 27, 1890 • Various

... so impressive in all this history as the difference between Moses when called upon to take responsibility as a military commander, and Moses when, not to mince matters, he acted as a quack. On the one hand, he was all vacillation, timidity, and irritability. On the other, all ...
— The Emancipation of Massachusetts • Brooks Adams

... will live on for evermore. And in connection with him we call to mind those goodly chosen knights who spent themselves for honour's sake. But upon this day of which I speak, great was their astonishment at seeing the King quit their presence; and there were some who felt chagrined, and who did not mince their words, never before having seen the King, on the occasion of such a feast, enter his own chamber either to sleep or to seek repose. But this day it came about that the Queen detained him, and he remained so long at her side that he forgot himself and fell asleep. ...
— Four Arthurian Romances - "Erec et Enide", "Cliges", "Yvain", and "Lancelot" • Chretien de Troyes



Words linked to "Mince" :   modify, chop, aliment, alimentation, change, nourishment, victuals, nutrition, chop up, walk, alter, nutriment, sustenance



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