The 'must' of their bodies?

[BlueFairyBugsBooks]

I'm just reading a book for review purposes, and the author keeps referring to the 'must' of things. Such as "the familiar must of his body" or 'the comforting must of his old jacket"

Do they mean 'musk'? Or have I been getting the word wrong my entire life?

It means the same thing, more or less. Must - musty.

Well I agree with you, and wonder if they are confusing / conflating 'musty' and 'musk' ?

Oh dear. You haven’t got it wrong. This might be a case of neither the writer or their editor not being well read themselves? That’s a corker!

It really doesn’t mean the same thing. ‘Musky’ can be a pleasant aroma - ‘musty’ not so much.

Must is used for Mould smell in the US.

Unless the fella smells like a damp problem, then the author got it horribly wrong!

Is this person self-publishing?

Wondering how long it is until Chester Draws and Profito Rolls makes it into Waterstone's Book of the Month, as I may have to do away with myself when that day comes.

Should be musk

I think they are very similar in sound and vaguely similar jn meaning, so are easily mixed up, but are definitely separate real words.

musk is basically an animal scent-marking gland, and i think a plant that smells a bit similar that is sometimes used as a perfume ingredient. People have recently got into the habit of associating it with an excitingly sexy human smell.

must is an unpleasant dusty, unused smell associated with cellars and empty houses.

if i was going to write it once, let alone several times, in a book i’d have looked up the definition!

I also think that must is damp smell and not interchangeable with musk.

I'd never really considered that 'must' was a smell, despite the word 'musty'. Although I'm not sure I've ever used that either.

Oh well. Thanks for confirming my thoughts. Now to check if we are meant to point these things out, or or if I just adjust my rating accordingly.

I’ve always understood ‘must’ to be a sort of animalistic pheromone-type smell.

And ‘musk’ to be from a particular animal.

Same.

Musty is a totally different smell to musky so I don't think anyone has got it wrong (apart from those on the thread saying the author/proof reader has). Maybe is regional bit certainly a known and used word where I'm from

Yep.

Musty might be from lying in the back of a dust cupboard or sleeping somewhere damp. Musk is ore like fresh sweat or animal/skin scent

Also see musth, if you really want to overcomplicate matters, hah.

That's kind of why i asked really. It's not a phrase I've ever heard, but it could be regional.

Musk is like what foxes excrete when they want to mate.
Must is when you get some clothes wet and put them in a dusty attic before drying them.

Ah well, she's just referred to "the musk of his old spice" so it must just be a use of the word I've not heard before. Every day is a school day!

I think in your review you could mention that you found the repeated use of the word "must" grating and that it didn't make much sense in context unless the romantic hero is supposed to smell like mould.

I'm a lecturer in a Literature and creative writing based subject and have been in this field for about 20 years - I've never come across "must" used in this way. Unless it would make sense if his jacket is supposed to have that sort of charity shop smell? Would it? Can damp be a comforting smell for some people? Strange.

Must is like mould, so something can smell of must or be described as musty. A musty smell is not the same as a musky smell. Musk is an animalic, sweaty or hormonal smell, must smells like damp and mould. Things like attics and cellars and clothes that have been in storage or are old and worn smell musty. I guess person can smell of must if they are damp and old.

I don't think must only means mouldy. It also means sort of old and antiquated. Like old books. Not necessarily unpleasant.

(I just looked it up in my dictionary and there are these two meanings AND it also means a male camel or elephant 'in a frenzy'. Who knew?! )

So their body was like a bull elephant in a frenzy? I think I’ll take the mould please.

The elephant in a frenzy one is musth but must can be used in that context too. There's oil excreted when they are in the frenzy so I guess musth is used to distinguish it from deer musk.

Then there is must in relation to wine...

Either way, the man sounds a bit wiffy and like his clothes need a wash.

I understand what the author means (I think)...

"Experts have only detected 2-nonenal in people over the age of 40. Levels appear to only increase with age. While environmental and lifestyle factors can also influence body odor, 2-noneal appears to be responsible for the distinct, slightly musty odor associated with older people."

https://www.healthline.com/health/older-people-smell-different#:~:text=Experts%20have%20only%20detected%202,odor%20associated%20with%20older%20people.