catawampus
English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
The first part may be related to cater-corner. The second part may be related to wampish (“wriggle, twist about like a fish”).
Adjective
catawampus (comparative more catawampus, superlative most catawampus)Category:English lemmas#CATAWAMPUSCategory:English adjectives#CATAWAMPUSCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#CATAWAMPUSCategory:Pages with entries#CATAWAMPUSCategory:Pages with 1 entry#CATAWAMPUS
- (USCategory:American English#CATAWAMPUS) Out of alignment, in disarray or disorder: crooked, askew.
- 1885, Charles Egbert Craddock, Down the Ravine:Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned
- "Waal, I noticed ez the aidge o' one o' them boards war sot sorter catawampus, ...".Category:English terms with quotations#CATAWAMPUS
- (Can we date this quote?), (Please provide the book title or journal name):Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned
- "Remember when Justin missed the T in the software code and tanked the reports for the client. What a catawampus that was.".Category:English terms with quotations#CATAWAMPUS
Alternative forms
- catawampous
- catawamptious
- (influenced by cat, catty, kitty) cattywampus, cattywampous; kittywampus, kittywumpus
- (with other initial elements) caddywompus, caliwampus, caliwampous; cankywampus
Synonyms
- (out of alignment): askew, awry, crooked, off-kilter; sigogglin; skewampus / skiwampus
- (fierce, destructive): destructive, fierce
Derived terms
Translations
Adverb
catawampus (comparative more catawampus, superlative most catawampus)Category:English lemmas#CATAWAMPUSCategory:English adverbs#CATAWAMPUSCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#CATAWAMPUSCategory:Pages with entries#CATAWAMPUSCategory:Pages with 1 entry#CATAWAMPUS
Etymology 2
Perhaps from catamount (“cougar, puma, lynx”), influenced by the adjective above.
Noun
catawampus (plural catawampuses)Category:English lemmas#CATAWAMPUSCategory:English nouns#CATAWAMPUSCategory:English countable nouns#CATAWAMPUSCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#CATAWAMPUSCategory:Pages with entries#CATAWAMPUSCategory:Pages with 1 entry#CATAWAMPUS
- (USCategory:American English#CATAWAMPUS) A fierce imaginary animal, a bogeyman.
Translations
Adjective
catawampus (comparative more catawampus, superlative most catawampus)Category:English lemmas#CATAWAMPUSCategory:English adjectives#CATAWAMPUSCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#CATAWAMPUSCategory:Pages with entries#CATAWAMPUSCategory:Pages with 1 entry#CATAWAMPUS
- (USCategory:American English#CATAWAMPUS) Fierce, destructive.
- 1844, Charles Dickens, chapter 21, in The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit:Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned
- There air some catawampous chawers in the small way too, as graze upon a human pretty strong; but don't mind them, they're company.Category:English terms with quotations#CATAWAMPUS
References
- Jonathan E. Lighter, Historical Dictionary of American Slang, Volume I, A-G. Random House USA, 1994. →ISBN.
- Frederic G[omes] Cassidy, editor (1985), “catawampus”, in Dictionary of American Regional English, volumes I (Introduction and A–C), Cambridge, Mass., London: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, →ISBN, pages 558–559.
- Eric Partridge, The Routledge Dictionary of Historical Slang. Routledge, 1973. →ISBN.
- Mrs. Byrne [Josefa Heifetz Byrne] (1979), “catawampus”, in Mrs. Byrne’s Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure and Preposterous Words: Gathered from Numerous and Diverse Authoritative Sources, London: Granada Publishing, →ISBN.