Word of the Day for Tuesday, June 28, 2011
catawampus \kat-uh-WOM-puhs\, adjective:
1. Off-center; askew; awry.
2. Positioned diagonally; cater-cornered.
I dare say that the B.O.'s catawampus view of America is not a good thing!
--Spy Maker, JSA's Blog
Very circuitous, I must say- most sidelong and backhanded, cockeyed and skew-jawed, catawampus and wonky.-- Candace A. Croft, Annalia's Simply Splendid Flight: From Another Side of Day
The only traditional touches are the catawampus walls and whichaway entrances dictated by Feng Shui, the art of placing things so as to ensure luck and not disturb spirits.-- P. J. O'Rourke, Eat the rich
Catawampus arose in the United States around 1840, during a particular vogue in elaborate coinages. Cata- stems from cater-, a now-archaic root meaning "diagonal," while the source of -wampus is subject to debate.
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