mule

[For the right pronunciation, please click here.]

a kind of animal – a cross-breed of a male donkey and a female horse – compact body with short, thick head, long ears, short mane (= thick hair on the back of the neck and shoulders), thin but strong legs; size, weight and colour depend on the mother (dam) and father (sire) of a particular mule; feeds on (eats) grass and other horse feed; lives for 30-40 years; found in many parts of the world, particularly in rugged, rocky areas,

male ~~ jack

female ~~ hinney*/hinny (also ‘mare mule’ or ‘mule mare’) {plural – hinnies} molly (the female mule which can give birth to foals)

baby ~~ foal

group ~~ barren, pack, span, rake

voice (call) ~~ {no particular name, but sounds something like a bray and a neigh mixed}

Note: The word ‘hinny’ is also used for a cross between a male horse and a female donkey. Therefore, the female of a mule is sometimes called ‘mare mule’ or ‘mule mare’, instead of ‘hinny’ or ‘hinney’ to make the meaning clear!

Special Features:
The mule is the state animal of Missouri, USA.

mule, a beast of burden

Though mules are sterile, i.e. they cannot give birth to babies, there are some individual females, called ‘mollies’, which can give birth.

Mules are sturdy animals, and they are easier to maintain than horses or donkeys.

Mules have been used as draught animals (beast of burden) for hundreds of years.

a mule deer

Mules were used in the World War II for carrying arms and food supplies to the troop fighting in the rugged, mountainous regions!

Mules are notorious for being stubborn, like donkeys, but animal experts say that they are gentler than the donkeys when treated properly. The stubborn behaviour is their self-preservation!!

The ‘mule deer’, on the other hand, is an entirely different animal; it is a deer found in the western North America.

Figures of Speech:
1. mule (noun) =

a slipper — a kind of foot-wear

(a) a stupid, head-strong person

(b) a hybrid between a canary and other birds; and a hybrid between certain plants

(d) a slipper or shoe that is without a cover or strap to cover the heel

(e) a small electric vehicle, like a tractor, used for towing things over short distance – from one place to another in a factory

a mule, a kind of backpack

(f) (also a ‘drug mule‘) a person who carries and delivers illegal drugs for another, usually without knowing

(g) a bag (backpack) used for carrying light things hung on the back of a person

2. a mule in the garden [said of something worrying and unpleasant]

3. (a) as stubborn/obstinate/stunt/wicked/stiff as a mule (‘stunt’ = obstinate)

(b) as proud as a government mule

4. like a mule at nettle early in spring (‘nettle’ = a kind of plant with prickly hair-like growth on it that causes skin irritation when touched) [said of a situation where both love and hatred, or attraction and repulsion take place]

5. one mule scratches (or scrubs) another [said to mean that fools help one another]

6. shoe his mule [said of a person who steals (embezzles) public money which is in his keeping, like an accountant or a treasurer of a social organisation, etc.]

7. Is there a mule to shave? [a comment on a gathering of crowd of people too eager to know of something]