Where is Cattywampus used?

Cattywampus. Originating in the Colonial United states and still used in the deep South, cattywampus means something that is in disarray, that is askew, or something that isn't directly across from something.


Where do people say Cattywampus?

Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. This shows grade level based on the word's complexity. askew; awry.

What is Cattywampus slang for?

Definition - askew, awry, kitty-corner. Cattywampus is a variant of catawampus, another example of grand 19th century American slang. In addition to “askew” catawampus may refer to “an imaginary fierce wild animal,” or may mean “savage, destructive.”


Is catawampus a southern word?

This word sounds like something that belongs in Harry Potter, but catawampus (sometimes spelled cattywampus) is a fixture in everyday Southern speech. It describes something that's askew, awry, or diagonal, as in "we tried setting it up straight, but it ended up catawampus."

How do you use Cattywampus in a sentence?

going badly, awkwardly, or in the wrong direction: The script is spoiled by its catawampus rhythms and its lack of consistency and plausibility. I didn't need this, especially on a morning when everything else had already started out going cattywampus. Dear me, everything has gone catawampus with me this week.


Cattywampus Meaning



What is a ninnyhammer?

Noun. ninnyhammer (plural ninnyhammers) a foolish person; a simpleton quotations ▼

What language is kerfuffle?

alteration of carfuffle, from Scots car- (probably from Scottish Gaelic cearr wrong, awkward) + fuffle to become disheveled.

What is the most southern thing to say?

We chose 15 of the most ridiculous Southern sayings — and tried to explain them.
  1. “We're living in high cotton.” ...
  2. “She was madder than a wet hen.” ...
  3. “He could eat corn through a picket fence.” ...
  4. “You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.” ...
  5. “You look rode hard and put up wet.” ...
  6. “He's as drunk as Cooter Brown.”


What do Southerners say when it's hot?

Phrases Southerners in the U.S. use when it's really hot outside
  • It's not the heat — it's the humidity.
  • It's hot as Hades.
  • It's hotter than Dutch love.
  • It's a barn burner.
  • It's hotter than blue blazes.
  • It's hotter than Georgia asphalt.
  • It's hot enough to scald a lizard.
  • It's hotter than a stolen tamale.


How do you say pretty in Southern slang?

She's as Pretty as a Peach

This is a high compliment in the South, since Southern states are known for their peaches.

Where did the phrase Kittywampus come from?

When it was first used in the U.S. around 1834 as an adverb, it meant “completely, utterly or avidly.” It first appeared as a noun (catawampus) in Dickens' Martin Chuzzlewit (1843), though it probably was first recorded as a noun in American works shortly before that.


What is a Bumfuzzle?

bum·​fuz·​zled ˈbəm-ˌfə-zəld. US, informal. : in a state of bewilderment : confused or perplexed. Elliott seemed a little bumfuzzled by the negativity, saying he had received a lot of offers of various kinds of help for the ballpark.

What is Whopperjawed?

Perhaps being "whopper jawed" meant having a large jaw, which would be an unattractive look for a girl. Thus, it would be a way of saying "you look ugly".

What is a gardyloo?

(Scotland, obsolete) Used by people in medieval Scotland to warn passers-by of waste about to be thrown from a window into the street below. The term was still in use as late as the 1930s and 1940s, when many people had no indoor toilets.


What is a Snollygoster?

snollygoster (plural snollygosters) (slang, obsolete) A shrewd person not guided by principles, especially a politician. quotations ▼

What is a Gigglemug?

Gigglemug. Definition: An habitually smiling face. Usage: “These Miss America contestants are just a bunch of gigglemugs.”

How do Southerners say goodbye?

Here are the sayings to use.
  1. Church is finally letting out.
  2. Church is out.
  3. Don't take any wooden nickels.
  4. Don't let the door hit ya' where the good Lord split ya. '
  5. Holler if you need me.
  6. It's time to heat up the bricks.
  7. It's time to put the chairs in the wagon.
  8. It's time to swap spit and hit the road.


How do you compliment a Southern woman?

These compliments and lighthearted digs have Southern flair aplenty.
  1. She's as pretty as a peach.
  2. They're as pretty as a pitcher. ( ...
  3. He's a tall drink of iced tea.
  4. They're as happy as clams at high tide.
  5. She's as smart as all get out.
  6. They're finer than frogs' hair split four ways.
  7. She's got gumption.


How do you say hello in Southern slang?

Howdy. This is a Southern way to say hello. Howdy! How are you today?

What do you call a Southern girl?

The Southern belle archetype is characterized by Southern hospitality, a cultivation of beauty, and a flirtatious yet chaste demeanor. For example, Sallie Ward, who was born into the planter class of Kentucky in the Antebellum South, was called a Southern belle.


What do Southerners call northerners?

In the Southern United States, Yankee is a derisive term which refers to all Northerners, and during the American Civil War was applied by Confederates to soldiers of the Union army in general.

How do Southerners say you all?

But the best-known word in the Southern vernacular is probably our most-loved pronoun: y'all. A contraction of "you" and "all" is what forms "y'all" when addressing or referencing two or more people.

Is Snickersnee a real word?

a knife, especially one used as a weapon.


What language is balderdash?

According to it, the English noun goes back to Hebrew Bal, allegedly contracted from Babel, and dabar. The “curiosity” consists in the fact that there is a German verb (aus)baldowern “to nose out a secret or some information” (aus– is a prefix), from the language of the underworld.

What is Flibbertigibbet etymology?

Flibbertigibbet is one of many incarnations of the Middle English word flepergebet, meaning "gossip" or "chatterer" (others include flybbergybe, flibber de' Jibb, and flipperty-gibbet). It is a word of onomatopoeic origin, created from sounds that were intended to represent meaningless chatter.