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mulligan

noun
mul·​li·​gan | \ ˈmə-li-gən How to pronounce mulligan (audio) \

Definition of mulligan

: a free shot sometimes given a golfer in informal play when the previous shot was poorly played

Examples of mulligan in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

 Until then, apparently, the president gets unlimited mulligans from evangelicals. — Tierney Mcafee, PEOPLE.com, "Evangelical Leader Says Trump Gets 'a Mulligan' on Alleged Affair with Porn Star," 24 Jan. 2018 Assuming Clemson gets a mulligan and gets into the playoff, every other team would have at least two losses. — Ralph D. Russo, The Seattle Times, "For 3rd week, ‘Bama, Clemson, ND, Mich top CFP; UCF’s path," 21 Nov. 2018 While Newgarden did climb into second place — 33 points back of Dixon — Iowa was almost like a mulligan for the championship field. — Jim Ayello, Indianapolis Star, "IndyCar in Toronto: 'Eh Team' returns home; Conor Daly returns to field," 12 July 2018 There were adjustments made for the long day, even though the golfers all said mulligans were not allowed and few gimme putts permitted. — Daniel I. Dorfman, chicagotribune.com, "A Lake Bluff golf course needs private funding to stay open. Local golfers are doing all they can to make it happen.," 3 July 2018 Succop made the mulligan for a victory in the coldest game in franchise history. — Creg Stephenson, AL.com, "Chiefs vs. Titans live stream, TV channel, score; NFL playoffs 2018," 6 Jan. 2018 Night of trivia with a twist, bonus rounds of physical fun, mulligans, prizes, great beer, spirit pull, music and food trucks. — The Courier-Journal, "60+ fun things in Louisville the week of Sept. 14-20," 14 Sep. 2017 That means his entire lifetime wasn’t worth one mulligan. — Carolyn Hax, idahostatesman, "Getting the cold shoulder from mother-in-law | Idaho Statesman," 19 Mar. 2018 Another consortium, given a mulligan, wants to buy the Spartans for $8,000. — Teddy Greenstein, chicagotribune.com, "Want to bet big on March Madness? Join a Calcutta auction," 14 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mulligan.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of mulligan

1931, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for mulligan

probably from the name Mulligan

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Time Traveler for mulligan

The first known use of mulligan was in 1931

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