MESS OF POTTAGE

PRONUNCIATION: (MES uhv POT-ij)

MEANING: noun: Something trivial accepted in return for something of great value, especially when done for immediate gratification.

ETYMOLOGY: From mess (dish), from Latin missum (sent to a table), past participle of mittere (to send) + pottage (a thick soup, literally something in/from a pot). Earliest documented use: 1330.
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MESS OF POSTAGE - what the USPS has made of the mail system

MASS OF POTTAGE - a large glob of oatmeal

MESS OF COTTAGE - what Hansel and Gretel left the Wicked Witch's house in when they escaped from her clutches