orz if you plz
mashi usually is like "this is better"
like "konshuu no hanashi wa zenkai yori mashi da" or something like that
though perhaps a Real Japanese should verify
As alredy >>412 said, マシ is "better." It often (not always) implys the speaker's reluctant feeling. For example "そのほうがマシだ" usually sounds "It is better than something else or the current situation, but still not perfect."
The adjective マシ was derived from 増す(ます、verb "increase").