== French == === Alternative forms === mé- (before a consonant) mes- (obsolete, until 18th century; was used before vowels as well as consonants) === Etymology === Inherited from Middle French mes-, from Old French mes- (“badly, wrongly”), from Frankish *missa-, from Proto-Germanic *missa- (“divergent, amiss, astay”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mey-t(h₂)- (“to swap, exchange”). Akin to Old English mis- (“mis-”), Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐍃𐍃𐌰- (missa-), Old High German missa- (“mis-”). More at mis-. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /mez/ === Prefix === més- (before a vowel) mis- (badl...

The moustache cup (or mustache cup) is a drinking cup with a semicircular ledge inside. The ledge, called a moustache guard, has a half moon-shaped opening to allow the passage of liquids and serves as a guard to keep moustaches dry. It is generally acknowledged to have been invented in the 1870s by British potter Harvey Adams (1835–?). == Historic context == Moustaches flourished throughout the Victorian era, and by the early twentieth century, the British Army required soldiers to grow a moustache. Often, moustache wax was applied to the moustache to keep it stiff, with every hair in place....