Chapter Mundungus to Mutual Friends of M by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

Mutantur “Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis, ” is by Nicholas Borbonius, a Latin poet of the sixteenth century. Dr. Sandys says that the Emperor Lothair, of the Holy Roman Empire, had already said, “Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis. ”

Mute as a Fish Quite silent. Some fish make noises, but these are mechanical, not organic.

Mutes at Funerals This was a Roman custom. The undertaker, attended with lictors dressed in black, marched with the corpse; and the undertaker, as master of the ceremonies, assigned to each follower his proper place in the procession.

Mutton (French, mouton). A gold coin impressed with the image of a lamb.

Mutton-eating King (The). Charles II. of England. The witty Earl of Rochester wrote this mock epitaph on his patron:-

“Here lies our mutton-eating king,
Whose word no man relies on;
He never said a foolish thing,
And never did a wise one.”

   Come and eat your mutton with me. Come and dine with me.

Mutton-fist A large, coarse, red fist.

Muttons A Stock Exchange term for the Turkish '65 loan, partly secured by the sheep-tax.
   Revenons à nos moutons. (See Moutons.)

Mutual Friends Can two persons be called mutual friends? Does not the word of necessity imply three or more than three? (See the controversy in Notes and Queries June 9, 1894, p. 451.)

“A mutual flame was quickly caught,
Was quickly, too, revealed;
For neither bosom lodged a thought
Which virtue keeps concealed."
Edwin and Emma.

(Mutual = reciprocal.)