Meaning
Askew, out of alignment, or in a confused and irregular state. Current but regional, jocular, and semantically flexible Regional use: United States, especially regional and rural speech.
Origin
A deliberately comic American word in print by 1830, first glossed as obliquely or on a slant. Across the 19th century it also meant completely, excessive, ill-tempered, a strange illness, or an imaginary beast. Its precise formation is unknown; cater-corner and catamount may have influenced particular senses. Its stable feature is playful exaggeration, not one fixed literal source.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- catawampous
- catawampously
- catawampusly
- cattywampus
Usage Examples
- The shelf sits catawampus because one bracket is upside down.
- A gust left every chair in the courtyard cattywampus.