Cattywampus

askew, awry. 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.”

The unfinished renovation project had left the laundry room cattywampus

by Andrew Cinerari August 6, 2024

doohickey

A doohickey is a gadget.

Honey, have you seen the garage doohickey?

by Andrew Cinerari August 6, 2024

kerfuffle

A British word meaning “a fuss; commotion,”

The gas-price hike caused quite a kerfuffle.

by Andrew Cinerari August 6, 2024

diddly-squat

The word diddly-squat is a direct linguistic cousin to doodly-squat. The term is used with a negative context to denote something that is minimal and inconsequential.

That doesn’t mean diddly-squat. And, that’s that.

by Andrew Cinerari August 6, 2024

shivoo

Shivoo is Australian in origin and stands for a “boisterous party or celebration.”

We're having a shivoo round at our place tonight - do you want to come?

by Andrew Cinerari August 6, 2024