Maunga
A mountain, from te reo - often a sacred ancestral landmark.
"Our maunga watches over the town."
The dictionary · best-rated first · page 12 of 22
Mean
High praise: excellent, awesome, impressive. 'The meanest' is the best there is.
"That's a mean feed, bro."
Mean as
Excellent, awesome - 'mean' with the signature 'as' intensifier. Nothing follows the 'as'.
"That ride's mean as."
Meathead
A big, tough, not-especially-bright bloke. Gym-and-protein energy.
"Bunch of meatheads at the gym."
Metal road
A gravel road. 'Metal' means the loose gravel surface, which confuses everyone else on Earth.
"Slow down, it's metal road from here."
Mince
Ground beef. The foundation of half of NZ home cooking.
"Mince on toast for tea."
Mince and cheese
The default pie flavour - NZ's unofficial national dish. Mince, cheese, pastry, sauce.
"Mince and cheese, sauce, done."
Mint
In perfect condition, or just excellent.
"Bro this pie is mint."
Mish
A mission — any journey or task requiring effort. 'Keen for a mish?'
"It's a bit of a mish to get there but worth it."
Moana
The sea or ocean, from te reo. Also a very common name.
"Out on the moana all day fishing."
Mokopuna
Grandchild(ren), from te reo - often shortened to 'moko'. Term of deep affection.
"Spoiling the mokopuna rotten."
Mufti
Casual clothes worn on a non-uniform day. 'Mufti day' funds every school fundraiser.
"It's mufti day Friday, gold coin donation."
Munch
Food, or to eat. 'Got any munch?'
"Grab some munch for the road trip."
Mungas
The munchies, or a general craving for food. 'Got the mungas.'
"Post-swim mungas are real."
Munt
The verb behind munted - to break or wreck something. 'Don't munt it.'
"Careful you don't munt the hinge."
Munted
Broken, wrecked, or extremely drunk. A phone, a fence or a mate can all be munted.
"Dropped my phone — screen's munted."
Munted as
Extremely broken or extremely drunk, with the 'as' turning it up to eleven.
"The road's munted as after the storm."
Munted as a cut snake
Extremely drunk or extremely angry, depending. Vivid rural imagery.
"He was munted as a cut snake by tea."
Munted as jandals
Comprehensively wrecked - jandals being famously flimsy after a season.
"The old mower's munted as jandals."
Munted as, aye
Regional confirmation that something's wrecked, with the classic tag question.
"Bridge is munted as, aye."