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catawampus

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catawampus¹

  • /ˌkætəˈwɑmpəs/ US
  • /ˈkætəˌwɑmpəs/ US

Where it comes from

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

adjective more catawampus · most catawampus · catawampous · catawamptious · cattywampus · cattywampous

  1. US Out of alignment, in disarray or disorder: crooked, askew. "Waal, I noticed ez the aidge o' one o' them boards war sot sorter catawampus, ...".

    Similar: askew, awry, crooked, off-kilter, sigogglin, skewampus, skiwampus, destructive, fierce

adverb more catawampus · most catawampus

  1. US Diagonally.
  2. US Utterly.

catawampus²

  • /ˌkætəˈwɑmpəs/ US
  • /ˈkætəˌwɑmpəs/ US

Where it comes from

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

noun catawampuses · cattywampus

  1. US A fierce imaginary animal. But speaking scientifickly, the wowser is a cross Between the cattywampus and and the dry-land albatross With parts of grizzly bear throwed in, and just enough of 'coon To give him rings around his tail, like rings around the moon.

adjective more catawampus · most catawampus · cattywampus

  1. US Fierce, destructive. 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.

Translations

Every language

adj out of alignment, crooked, cater-corner

Deutschkreuz und quer

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Cite this
MLA

"catawampus." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/catawampus. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

catawampus. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/catawampus

Chicago

"catawampus." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/catawampus.

BibTeX
@misc{catawampus_2026,
  title = {catawampus},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/catawampus},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}