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Monday, May 10, 2010

One misty, moisty mutant

My friend Nicole, traveling in Zanzibar last week, saw the label on a shipping box: the umbrella symbol and, beneath it, the not unexpected advice "Store in dry place." But the rest of the admonition was not so straightforward. It read:
AVOID MUTANT FROM THE MUSTY
 OK, "the musty" must be whatever sort of mildew or mold likes to grow on damp shipping cartons in Zanzibar. But can my multilingual friends out there hazard a guess as to what word might have given rise to "mutant"? Some synonym for "growth" perhaps? Or for "spreading"? Or for "contagion," that current financial buzzword?

And while we're on the subject, do you use mildewy and musty as synonyms for the dank smell of the fungus among us? If not, what's the difference? (Food can only be moldy, as far as I know, but I tend to waffle when choosing between the other M-words. If you have a rule, please share.)
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8 comments:

  1. Charles MatthewsMay 10, 2010 at 7:17 PM

    I guess I've always used "mildewy" about damp things and "musty" about dry things. Mildewy things are in the basement or the bathroom. Musty things are in the attic or the garage. I think it's because of the "dew" in the one, and the rhyme with "dusty" in the other.

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  2. fevMay 10, 2010 at 8:11 PM

    Is that another closet Steeleye Span fan giving the secret signal in your hed there?

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  3. GaladrielMay 10, 2010 at 10:26 PM

    I thought "musty" was the smell and "mildewy" was the state of being mildewed, complete with black spores and musty smell.

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  4. JanMay 11, 2010 at 1:20 PM

    Hi fev,
    No, my "Misty Moisty Morning" comes direct from Mother Goose, in a shorter form:

    One misty moisty morning
    When cloudy was the weather
    I chanced to meet an old man
    Clothed all in leather

    He began to compliment
    And I began to grin
    Saying how d'ye do, etc.

    I like Steeleye Span's version, but they don't say "I chanced to meet an old man" but something slightly different. Without that "chanced" (which stuck in my infant ear) it doesn't seem quite authentic, even with all 10 (or whatever) verses.

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  5. emptyMay 11, 2010 at 9:08 PM

    Irrelevant etymological note: "mildew" used to mean "honeydew".

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  6. The Ridger, FCDMay 12, 2010 at 2:48 PM

    For me, too, "musty" is dry and "mildewy" is moist...

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  7. emptyMay 12, 2010 at 11:30 PM

    "Musty" may sound dusty, but it is etymologically related to "moist". Then there's "fusty", which means much the same thing (same kind of smell) as "musty", and which turns out to come from a word meaning first "stave" and later the whole wine barrel. The other word "must" -- I mean the one related to wine-making -- has nothing to do with any of this.

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  8. RobinMay 27, 2010 at 7:45 AM

    Musty is a smell; mildew is more physical - visible fungus, moist state, etc.

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