catawampus

English

WOTD – 7 September 2009

The first part may be related to cater-corner. The second part may be related to wampish (“wriggle, twist about like a fish”).

catawampus (comparative more catawampus, superlative most catawampus)

(US) Out of alignment, in disarray or disorder: crooked, askew.
- 1885, Charles Egbert Craddock, Down the Ravine:
  "Waal, I noticed ez the aidge o' one o' them boards war sot sorter catawampus, ...".

catawampous
catawamptious
(influenced by cat, catty, kitty) cattywampus, cattywampous; kittywampus, kittywumpus
(with other initial elements) caddywompus, caliwampus, caliwampous; cankywampus

out of alignment, crooked, cater-corner

fierce, destructive

catawampus (comparative more catawampus, superlative most catawampus)

Perhaps from catamount (“cougar, puma, lynx”), influenced by the adjective above.

catawampus (plural catawampuses)

fierce imaginary animal

catawampus (comparative more catawampus, superlative most catawampus)

(US) Fierce, destructive.
- 1844, Charles Dickens, chapter 21, in The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit:
  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.

Jonathan E. Lighter, Historical Dictionary of American Slang, Volume I, A-G. Random House USA, 1994. ISBN 9780394544274.
Frederic G. Cassidy, Dictionary of American Regional English, Volume I, A-C. Harvard University Press, 1985. ISBN 0674205111.
Eric Partridge, The Routledge Dictionary of Historical Slang. Routledge, 1973. ISBN 9780710077615.
“catawampus” in Mrs. Byrne [Josefa Heifetz Byrne], Mrs. Byrne’s Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure and Preposterous Words: Gathered from Numerous and Diverse Authoritative Sources, London: Granada Publishing, 1979, ISBN 978-0-246-11151-7.