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.

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.

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. 

it's a big stick that you use to hit cats.

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.

Is it time to bring up....
supercalifragilisticexpialidocious  (sp?)

Nah.  You're too old to sound precocious, no matter how loud you say it...<g>

You're right. I'll have to settle for twentythreeskidoo.

<offers Rane a properly working space bar>

You mean like the one at Mos Eisley on Tatooine?  ;-)

Something like that.

Thisitemdoesn'tneedaspacebar.Thatshowwegotcatawampous.

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