catawampus

English

WOTD – 7 September 2009

Pronunciation

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌkætəˈwɑmpəs/, /ˈkætəwɑmpəs/

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)

1. (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, ...".

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; skewampus / skiwampus
• (fierce, destructive): destructive, fierce

Translations

out of alignment, crooked, cater-corner

• German: kreuz und quer (de)
• Serbo-Croatian: k vragu (idiom), dođavola (sh)

fierce, destructive

• Serbo-Croatian: k vragu (idiom), dođavola (sh)

Adverb

catawampus (comparative more catawampus, superlative most catawampus)

1. (US) Diagonally.
2. (US) Utterly.

Etymology 2

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

Noun

catawampus (plural catawampuses)

1. (US) A fierce imaginary animal, a bogeyman.

Translations

fierce imaginary animal

Adjective

catawampus (comparative more catawampus, superlative most catawampus)

1. (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.

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.

Further reading

• Down the Ravine by Charles Egbert Craddock at the Internet Archive
• The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit at Project Gutenberg