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"Mug" as fool, sucker
Posted by R. Berg on April 04, 2003
In Reply to: Mug, mug up posted by ESC on April 04, 2003
: : Any idea as to why "mug" means "fool", such as in "mug's game", and also as to what "mug" refers to in "mug up"?
: : Thanks in advance for any information.
: MUG - .2a. Orig. Underground & Carnival, a dupe, fool; sucker. 1857 "Ducange Anglicus" "Vulgar Tongue' 13: Mug, n. Dupe. "Who is the 'mug.'?." From Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, Volume 2, H-O by J.E. Lighter, Random House, New York, 1994.
: The same reference has several entries for "mug up":
: Mug-up, noun. -- a snack or drink of coffee, a short respite for such a snack.
: Mug up -- to study hard.
: Mug up -- to drink one's fill of coffee.
Eric Partridge says "mug" in the sense of a fool, an easy dupe, probably comes from the idea "something into which one can pour anything" (A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English).
