Mincemeat

Mincemeat

Noun · /ˈmɪns.miːt/

Definition

A mixture of dried fruits, spices, suet, and sometimes alcohol used as a filling for mince pies, traditionally containing minced meat but now almost always meat-free; in the phrase to make mincemeat of — to completely defeat or demolish (an opponent or argument).

Origin

From mince (to cut into small pieces, from Old French mincier, Medieval Latin minutiare, from Latin minutus, small) + meat (originally meaning any food, from Old English mete, food). The compound was originally descriptive — meat that has been minced. The word meat in Old English meant food generally; the narrowing to animal flesh was a later development, though mincemeat retained its food-in-general sense through the transition. The phrase make mincemeat of derives from the image of completely breaking something down into small pieces.