Expression of the Fortnight - 3

to make mincemeat out of somebody

A typical Christmas food in Britain are mince pies. These are pies containing something called mincemeat although in fact they do not have any meat in them at all. Mincemeat is made of dried fruits, apples and nuts. Originally in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries these pies did include a mixture of meat and fruit but modern versions omit the meat completely.

The informal expression 'to make mincemeat out of somebody' means to defeat somebody very easily in an argument, competition or fight. Sometimes it is used to mean utterly destroy.

I can imagine a defence lawyer making mincemeat of him if we ever put him up in court.

If like me you are a big Desperate Housewives fan you may remember an episode where Mrs Huber offers Susan some freshly baked mince pie. She explains to Susan about mincemeat with the intention of letting Susan know that she could make mincemeat out of her. Here is the dialogue:

Mrs. Huber: "I can't wait for you to try this. It's mincemeat."
Susan: "Actually, I just had dinner."
Mrs. Huber: "That's okay. You can save it for later." (she laughs)
Susan: "What's so funny?"
Mrs. Huber: "I was just thinking of that expression: I'll make mincemeat out of you. Mincemeat. It used to be an entree made up of mostly chopped meat, so it was like saying 'I'll chop you up into little bits.' But that was centuries ago. Today, mincemeat is mostly made up of fruit, spices, and rum. There's no meat in it. And still people say I'll make mincemeat out of you."
Susan: "I don't know that people really say that anymore."
Mrs. Huber: "I do."