|
|
| Author |
Message |
gracel
|
|
Catawampous Item
| 
Dec 30 16:20 UTC 1999 |
In item #42, we had a long and interesting discussion about what word to use
for a particular meaning. I now have a correlative situation -- a word whose
universe of meaning (and spelling, too) is strangely wide. I'm curious what
meaning (if any) would be attached to it by the eclectic contributors to
this conference. This item could also be used for other words. My word is
"cattywampus".
|
| 11 responses total. |
gracel
|
|
response 1 of 11:
|
Dec 30 16:37 UTC 1999 |
My mother-in-law used this word to describe how streets are laid out in her
town, meaning something like "any old way", "helter skelter". On the way
home we had a disagreement about how the word would be spelled ("cattywompus"
or "cattywumpus" were the candidates), so I looked it up.
Behold, our American Heritage Dictionary gives "cattywampus" as a variant of
"catawampus", but does not list "catawampus" so gives no definition.
The OED gives "catawampous" or "catawamptious" as the adjective, "catawampus"
as the noun; defined as "fierce, unsparing, destructive (a high-sounding
word with no very definite meaning". "Catawamptiously chawed up" is cited
as meaning "completely demolished, utterly defeated"; they say "catawampus"
was "used vaguely for 'fierce creature, vermin', or the like" and give a
quotation wherein "catawampuses" are apparently some kind of insect.
|
rcurl
|
|
response 2 of 11:
|
Dec 30 20:35 UTC 1999 |
My F&G News Standard defines it as
cat.a.wam'pus adj. 1 malicious, resentful, destructive. 2. Askew;
cater-cornered. -noun 1. A malicious person. 2. A hobgoblin or bogy. Also
cattywampus.
No origin is given.
|
happyboy
|
|
response 3 of 11:
|
Dec 30 22:11 UTC 1999 |
it's a big stick that you use to hit cats.
|
orinoco
|
|
response 4 of 11:
|
Jan 2 22:53 UTC 2000 |
I've heard the word as a name for a cat, but never as a real word.
And in any case, everyone just called the cat "wompus" anyway.
|
rcurl
|
|
response 5 of 11:
|
Jan 3 05:55 UTC 2000 |
Is it time to bring up....
supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (sp?)
|
kami
|
|
response 6 of 11:
|
Jan 4 04:54 UTC 2000 |
Nah. You're too old to sound precocious, no matter how loud you say it...<g>
|
rcurl
|
|
response 7 of 11:
|
Jan 4 06:42 UTC 2000 |
You're right. I'll have to settle for twentythreeskidoo.
|
orinoco
|
|
response 8 of 11:
|
Jan 4 20:01 UTC 2000 |
<offers Rane a properly working space bar>
|
albaugh
|
|
response 9 of 11:
|
Jan 4 23:01 UTC 2000 |
You mean like the one at Mos Eisley on Tatooine? ;-)
|
orinoco
|
|
response 10 of 11:
|
Jan 5 02:23 UTC 2000 |
Something like that.
|
rcurl
|
|
response 11 of 11:
|
Jan 5 07:31 UTC 2000 |
Thisitemdoesn'tneedaspacebar.Thatshowwegotcatawampous.
|