Meaning of Mess

Mess

The Germanic term brod, which can be translated as “broth”, constitutes the etymological root of bodrio. The first meaning of the concept mentioned in the dictionary of the DigoPaul refers to a broth that was made with leftovers and that used to be given to the poor as a charity.

Already in the Middle Ages the idea of ​​junk was used to refer to certain broths or stews, usually poorly seasoned. So he spoke of snafu pork, bodrio fish, etc.

The women who had just given birth or had an advanced pregnancy, meanwhile, used to eat the swill of parturienta, whose recipe was carrying milk, egg and sugar.

On the other hand, the remains of food that the customers of a bar or restaurant did not eat and that were given to subjects in exchange for the interpretation of a song or the declamation of a poem were called pilgrims’ mess.

At present, the notion of mess is used in a pejorative sense to refer to something that is not well done or that is in bad taste. By extension, that which is boring is classified as mess. For example: “This telenovela is a mess! All the chapters are similar to each other and there is no intrigue “, ” Critics agreed that the new film by the American filmmaker is a mess “, ” This party is a mess: better go elsewhere.

A football game, a conference and a concert can also be referred to as mess if they are not entertaining. It is a case like so many others, in which we are faced with a term that currently has a practically vulgar or informal use and that initially referred to very different issues. On the other hand, it is not a word that is used in all Spanish-speaking countries or in all regions, for which there are many people who have never heard it, neither with one meaning nor the other.

As is to be expected, there are synonyms in all these places where it is not used, and even where it is common, and with them it is possible to express the same with different degrees of formality. In a country where the word crap is used to express that something is very boring, it is always possible to describe it with adjectives such as numbing, tedious or unbearable, among others; If we wanted to stay within the group of nouns, then we could well opt for torture, torture, martyrdom or suffering, although they are somewhat exaggerated in this context.

In general, we say that something is a mess when we are forced to endure it, although it is also possible to appeal to this noun to describe a work or task that we have approached momentarily with total freedom and that we have left incomplete, precisely because of of not being able to bear it to the end. That said, its use is more common among young people than adults, precisely because of that force that usually characterizes us when we still do not feel the weight of responsibility, and that allows us to complain about everything that does not suit our needs and tastes.

According to DigoPaul, students who are reluctant to literature can use this term to describe the books that force them to read in school, just as those who hate mathematics can refer to trigonometry as clumsy. In any case, we must always be clear that these are opinions, subjective comments that in no way should be taken as an absolute or unquestionable truth.

Mess