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A.Word.A.Daywith Anu Garg
1. Askew; crooked.
2. Diagonally positioned: catercornered.
From cater (diagonally), from French word quatre (four). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kwetwer- (four), which also gave us four, square, cadre, quadrant, quarantine (literally, period of forty days). Earliest documented use: 1840. The word is also spelled as cattywampus.
"Have you noticed that life seems a bit catawampus lately?"
Scott Marcus; Managing Stress; Times-Standard (Eureka, California); Apr 3, 2011.
"A well-used Old Town canoe lies catawampus at the entrance to the cellar."
Stephen Williams; Why Ask for the Moon? The New York Times; Jun 10, 2007.
See more usage examples of catawampus in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:Every man is a damned fool for at least five minutes every day. Wisdom consists in not exceeding the limit. -Elbert Hubbard, author, editor, printer (1856-1915)