3 August 2016
catawampus
[kat-uh-wom-puh s]
Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S.
adjective
1. askew; awry.
2. positioned diagonally; cater-cornered.
adverb
3. diagonally; obliquely:
We took a shortcut and walked catawampus across the field.
Also, cattywampus.
Origin of catawampus
1830-1840 for earlier sense “utterly”; cata- diagonally (see cater-cornered ) + -wampus, perhaps akin to wampish
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for catawampus
Historical Examples
Whenever the barometer goes up two points catawampus must be remembered.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 98, 1890.05.10
Various
Word Origin and History for catawampus
adj.
also catawampous, cattywampus, catiwampus, etc. (see “Dictionary of American Slang” for more), American colloquial. First element perhaps from obsolete cater “to set or move diagonally” (see catty-cornered ); second element perhaps related to Scottish wampish “to wriggle, twist, or swerve about.” Or perhaps simply the sort of jocular pseudo-classical formation popular in the slang of those times, with the first element suggesting Greek kata-.
Earliest use seems to be in adverbial form, catawampusly (1834), expressing no certain meaning but adding intensity to the action: “utterly, completely; with avidity, fiercely, eagerly.” It appears as a noun from 1843, as a name for an imaginary hobgoblin or fright, perhaps from influence of catamount. The adjective is attested from the 1840s as an intensive, but this is only in British lampoons of American speech and might not be authentic. It was used in the U.S. by 1864 in a sense of “askew, awry, wrong” and by 1873 (noted as a peculiarity of North Carolina speech) as “in a diagonal position, on a bias, crooked.”
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Anagram
saw puma act
Today’s quote
We are as great as our belief in human liberty – no greater. And our belief in human liberty is only ours when it is larger than ourselves.
– Archibald MacLeish
On this day
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3 August 1905 – birth of Maggie Kuhn, activist and founder of the Gray Panthers, who campaigned for nursing home reform and opposed ageism. She also fought for human rights, social and economic justice, global peace, integration, and mental health issues. Died 22 April 1995.
3 August 1914 – World War I heats up: Germany invades Belgium and declares war on France, while Turkey signs a pact with Germany.
3 August 1914 – Formation of the World Alliance for International Friendship through the Churches. It’s purpose was to help churches promote peace, disarmament,rights of racial and religious minorities, conscientious objection, arms control, and the League of Nations.
3 August 1963 – birth of James Hetfield, US rock star, member of Metallica.
3 August 1973 – birth of Patrick Wilson, American actor, from movies such as ‘the Alamo‘, ‘Watchmen‘, ‘The A-Team‘, ‘Phantom of the Opera‘ – with Gerard Butler and Emma Rossum.
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