Mondo
Origin 1
From Japanese å•ç” (mondÅ).
Origin 2
From the title of the cult 1962 Italian documentary film Mondo cane, Italian for "A Dog's World", from mondo ("world") and cane ("dog"). The film featured bizarre scenes, leading to English use of mondo as an adverb meaning "very, extremely" in mock-Italian phrases like mondo bizarro.
"mondo" on thefreedictionary.com
Adjective
mondo
- (US, slang) Big, large; major, significant.
- 1997, K. C. Constantine, Family Values, G. K. Hall & Co. (1997), ISBN 9780783882321, page 80:I mean, me bein' here has caused us some mondo problems, so I shoulda figured out that not bein' here anymore would cause some more problems — "
- 2010, Dakota Cassidy, You Dropped a Blonde on Me, Berkley Sensation (2010), ISBN 9781101441893, unnumbered page:Younger gorgeous woman marries older, rich man, lives her life solely for him while reaping the bennies of mondo moolah only to end up dumped by older rich man for newer, younger model.
- 2012, Lucienne Diver, Crazy in the Blood, Samhain Publishing, Ltd. (2012), ISBN 9781609289324, page 79:“You're kidding—you can eat again after that mondo burger you had for lunch?â€
Adverb
mondo
- (US, slang) Very, extremely, really.
- 1992, Cherie Bennett, Sunset Paradise, Berkley (1992), ISBN 9780425137703, page 1:"This rain is mondo depressing," Sam sighed as she stared out the sliding glass doors that led to the Hewitts' deck.
- 2001, Margie Lapanja, Food Men Love: All-Time Favorite Recipes from Caesar Salad and Grilled Rib-Eye to Cinnamon Buns and Apple Pie, Conari Press (2001), ISBN 1573245127, page 196:This recipe, from someone who really knows her tiramisu, is mondo rich, utterly divine, and simple.
- 2002, Jeffrey Deaver, Mistress of Justice, Bantam Books (2002), ISBN 9780307793591, page 93:“Hey, this place is mondo cool. Bowie hangs out there. It's so packed you can hardly get in. And they play industrial out of one set of speakers and the Sex Pistols out of the other. I mean in the same room! Like, at a thousand decibels."