adj. (colloquial).—1. Disobliging; petty; STINGY. TO FEEL MEAN = to feel guilty.
2. (old: now American).—A general epithet of disparagement: MEAN night = a bad night; MEAN horse = a sorry screw; MEAN crowd = a man of no account; MEAN bit = a worn-out whore.
1840. LONGSTREET, Georgia Scenes, 27. He’ll cut the same capers there he does here. He’s a monstrous MEAN horse.
1887. F. FRANCIS, Jun., Saddle and Moccasin, viii. 146. There ain’t a drop of MEAN blood in him.
1888. ROOSEVELT, Frontier Types, in The Century Magazine, Oct., 836. There can be no greater provocation than is given by a ‘MEAN’ horse or a refractory steer.
MEAN ENOUGH TO STEAL ACORNS FROM A BLIND HOG, phr. (American).—As mean as may be.
