Bryson•s Dictionary for Writers and Editors

234
Muslim / Myanmar, Burma
Muslim (pref.), Moslem (alt.).
Mussolini, Benito. (1883–1945) Italian prime minister (1922–1943) and
dictator.
Mussorgsky/Moussorgsky, Modest Petrovich. (1839–1881) Russian composer.
mustache.
mutatis mutandis. (Lat.) “With the necessary changes.”
mutual, common. Many authorities continue to insist, with varying
degrees of conviction, that mutual should be reserved for describing
reciprocal relationships between two or more things
and not loosely applied to those things held in common. Thus,
if you and I like each other, we have a mutual friendship. But if
you and I both like Shakespeare, we have a common admiration.
The use of mutual in the sense of common has been with us since
the sixteenth century and was given a notable boost in the nineteenth
with the appearance of the Dickens novel Our Mutual
Friend. Most authorities accept it when common might be interpreted
as a denigration, but even so in its looser sense the word
is generally better avoided. It is, at all events, more often than
not superfluous, as here: “They hope to arrange a mutual exchange
of prisoners” (Daily Telegraph). An exchange of anything
can hardly be other than mutual.
muumuu. Loose-fitting Hawaiian dress.
Muzak. (Cap.)
MW. Megawatt.
mW. Milliwatt.
myalgic encephalomyelitis. (Abbr. ME.) A type of chronic malaise.
Myanmar, Burma. Burma is the former official name of the Southeast
Asian nation and the one preferred by most publications and
other informed users outside Burma. Myanmar was for a time
used by many publications, but now its use is mostly confined to
the country’s government and institutions under its influence.