Mug (noun / verb / UK slang)
(Also heard as: Proper mug, Mugged off, Muggy, Right mug)
Definition:
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(Noun) A fool, a soft touch, or someone who gets completely taken for a ride.
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(Verb – mugging off) Taking the mickey out of someone or disrespecting them to their face.
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(Noun) Slang for a face (“look at his ugly mug”).
Pronunciation: /mʌɡ/
Where It Comes From: Victorian pickpockets and East End street hustlers. Thieves used “mug” for a target’s face, then started calling the victims themselves “mugs” because they were easy marks. The phrase stuck around market stalls and pub chats ever since.
How People Actually Use It: The word you spit out when you realise you’ve been played. It’s what you call yourself after paying £8 for a pint down London, or what you snap at a mate when they start taking the absolute mick out of you (“Are you mugging me off?”).
Examples in the Wild:
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“Eight quid for a pint? They saw me coming—proper mug.”
Translation: “I feel like a total idiot for paying that ridiculous price.”
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“Don’t try and mug me off mate, I wasn’t born yesterday.”
Translation: “Stop treating me like a fool and lying to my face.”
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“Lent him fifty quid six months ago and haven’t seen a penny—I’m an absolute mug.”
Translation: “I was far too soft and let him take advantage of me.”
Similar Slang: Soft touch, Prat, Clown, Doormat, Pushover, Chump
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