Meaning
A mouse or a small rat. The doubled 'muss-muss' is the everyday, almost nursery Jamaican name for the little rodent, famous from the pairing 'puss an muss-muss' (cat and mouse) and from Anancy stories and proverbs where the sly little mouse plays its part. The reduplication gives the word a small, scurrying, familiar feel, fitting for the creature that raids the kitchen and the provision at night.
Examples
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A muss-muss run cross di kitchen.
A mouse ran across the kitchen.
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Set a trap fi di muss-muss.
Set a trap for the mouse.
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Puss an muss-muss nuh gree.
Cat and mouse don't get along.
Origin
A reduplication of 'mouse', a common Jamaican way of naming small creatures with a doubled word.
How it’s used
The ordinary word for a mouse or small rat. Appears in proverbs and children's rhymes about cat and mouse.