What it means
Short for nightmare, used when something’s turned into a proper hassle or gone a bit tits-up. You’ll hear What a mare, This is a mare, or I’ve had a mare when a plan falls apart in that annoying, low-level way that ruins your day by inches. It’s everyday British moaning with a shrug, not anything to do with horses.
Usage examples
"Got to the station, train’s cancelled, phone’s on 1%, and the lad in front’s eating egg mayo like it’s aftershave. Absolute mare, I’m off to the chippy."
"The drive back was an absolute mare, three diversions and a flat tyre in the rain."
"I had a right mare at work today, the printer ate the report ten minutes before the meeting."
"Tried to sort the booking on my phone and the site crashed twice. Total mare, honestly."
"Forgot my keys, missed the bus, then it started chucking it down. Proper mare of a morning."
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Where it comes from
This is a real clipping of nightmare in British English. It’s been used in speech for years in lines like what a mare and I’ve had a mare, especially for stressful, messy, annoying situations rather than literal bad dreams. The spelling matches mare the horse by accident, but that’s not where the slang meaning comes from.
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