AtDDtA1: "Mess"

[Dave Monroe]

"Miles busied himself in the miniature galley, and soon had fried them
up a 'mess' of catfish ..." (AtD, Pt. I, Ch. 2, p. 14)


"mess"

Main Entry: mess
Pronunciation: 'mes
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English mes, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin
missus course at a meal, from missus, past participle of mittere to
put, from Latin, to send -- more at SMITE
1 : a quantity of food: a archaic : food set on a table at one time b
: a prepared dish of soft food; also : a mixture of ingredients cooked
or eaten together c : enough food of a specified kind for a dish or a
meal <picked a mess of peas for dinner>
2 a : a group of persons who regularly take their meals together; also
: a meal so taken b : a place where meals are regularly served to a
group : MESS HALL
3 a : a disordered, untidy, offensive, or unpleasant state or
condition <your room is in a mess> b : one that is disordered, untidy,
offensive, or unpleasant usually because of blundering, laxity, or
misconduct <[the movie] is a mess, as sloppy in concept as it is in
execution -- Judith Crist>
4 : a large quantity or number

http://m-w.com/dictionary/mess