1. Describing an object or movement, with the first part out of line with the second part.
2. The motion of a vehicle which has the front axle alignment slightly offset from the back axle alignment, causing the vehicle to track diagonally as it moves down the road.
3. The motion of an any animal that runs or moves with its body slightly diagonal to the forward direction, similar to a cat.
4. Parts out of alignment.
5. Something that just doesn't work out.
6. A crooked object.
7. A haphazard arrangment of things.
8. A wildcat in the Tennessee woods.
Pronunciation: cat-a-wom-puss (or) cat' whom-puss
Catwampus is usually preceded by the words "run", "went", "slightly", or "kinda".
Origin: From the word Wampus, a Tennessee and Kentucky hillbilly slang name for the legendary mountain lion or wildcat. Wildcats run fast with their hind legs very offset to one side from their front legs. They are often afraid of humans and therefore are often viewed from the rear as they are running away.
Also spelled: cat'wampus, cat-wampus, cattywampus, catawampus, caddywampus, catawompas, caddywhampus, catterwampus, catterwhompus.
2. The motion of a vehicle which has the front axle alignment slightly offset from the back axle alignment, causing the vehicle to track diagonally as it moves down the road.
3. The motion of an any animal that runs or moves with its body slightly diagonal to the forward direction, similar to a cat.
4. Parts out of alignment.
5. Something that just doesn't work out.
6. A crooked object.
7. A haphazard arrangment of things.
8. A wildcat in the Tennessee woods.
Pronunciation: cat-a-wom-puss (or) cat' whom-puss
Catwampus is usually preceded by the words "run", "went", "slightly", or "kinda".
Origin: From the word Wampus, a Tennessee and Kentucky hillbilly slang name for the legendary mountain lion or wildcat. Wildcats run fast with their hind legs very offset to one side from their front legs. They are often afraid of humans and therefore are often viewed from the rear as they are running away.
Also spelled: cat'wampus, cat-wampus, cattywampus, catawampus, caddywampus, catawompas, caddywhampus, catterwampus, catterwhompus.
"The 18 wheeler semi tractor trailer truck drove catwampus down the highway because the trailer wheels were not aligned well."
"The project went catwampus because the workers and the management just didn't see eye to eye."
"The picture on the wall was slightly catwampus after the storm."
"The wagon wheel ran catwampus after hitting a rock when the horses were spooked."
"The project went catwampus because the workers and the management just didn't see eye to eye."
"The picture on the wall was slightly catwampus after the storm."
"The wagon wheel ran catwampus after hitting a rock when the horses were spooked."
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ADV. Performed in a non-straightforward manner; approached from an unexpected angle; askew; askance.
Ralph Waldo Emerson was a poet and philosopher whose idea of the "Oversoul" may prefigure contemporary astrophysicists' notion that "all matter is is made up of the same elements and energies and governed by the same laws" because the universe proceeds from a Big Bang. "Poets may go at the big truths a little cattywampus, but sometimes they do get to them" (Ted Kooser, _The Poetry Home Repair Manual_, University of Nebraska Press, 2005. 141)
by mecr July 7, 2012
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