WordWise – The Curious Meaning of Catawampus – FREE resource
When my daughter was little, she had long hair. Every morning as I would comb it, part it, and put it in pigtails or clips, I would tell her the same joke.
“Stand still,” I would say. “We don’t want your hair to be catawampus!”
And she would invariably giggle and wiggle and we would have to start the combing all over again.
Hm….. So cute, and just a little catawampus!
So, it totally made sense for me to start using that word in my kindergarten class, and predictably, it always finds giggles there too! Which makes it a perfect word for Word Wise!
Be sure to read on to learn about this crazy word and to grab your free resource! This post will feature:
The History of Catawampus
Catawampus may tickle our funny bone now, but it has not always amused. According to WordOrigins.org, catawampus is a nonsense word that doesn’t have a fixed meaning. It can mean “askew”, “ill-tempered”, or even be used as the name of a fanciful monster. I have to admit, I do love a word that means whatever I want it to in the moment!
Most sources agree that the word first appeared in the 1830’s, so this is a fairly new word to English. The earliest reference I could find used the word to mean “excessive”, but in my experience, and in more recent usage, it generally means “askew” or “off-kilter”. That is certainly the way I used it to describe my daughter’s hair. Incidentally, it has different spellings too, and some of them help you make connections to other words. For example, the spelling “cattywampus” clearly points us to “catty-corner”, which means diagonally across from something. It’s pretty easy to see how that relates to catawampus, meaning “askew”.
I do love a good graph, and the OnlineEtymologyDictionary tells us that catawampus was fairly popular in the 1880’s, and then fell into disfavor, only to rise in popularity again over the past 15 years. So, of course, I asked myself why. Apparently, neither Google nor Alexa know, so I really can’t say. But Green’s Dictionary of Slang shows that Dickens used catawampous in Martin Chuzzlewit in 1843. Maybe people have started to read Dickens again….?
Examples of Catawampus Across Time
“After some very catawampus chawing of the Philadelphia Vade Mecum (a rival sporting paper), the Editor gives a programme of “The Day!”—thus: Epitome of News for Saturday.”
https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/top-10-funny-sounding-and-interesting-words
— United States Telegraph (Washington, DC), 23 Jul. 1835
Catawampus chawing sounds very unpleasant, and I would hate to be the editor of the rival newspaper!
“There air some catawampous chawers in the small way too, as graze upon a human pretty strong; but don’t mind them, they’re company. It’s snakes,’ he says, ‘as you’ll object to…” – Martin Chuzzlewit, by Charles Dickens, published in 1844
https://uselessetymology.com/2017/12/02/the-etymology-of-cattywampus/
I think it’s so interesting that these two early quotes both place catawampus next to chawers or chawing. It seems like early uses of the word focused on eating, or chewing, and the word seems to mean excessive. It’s also interesting to me that both quotes spell the word differently – see, it’s not just your students who can’t spell!
“So when news gets out that the Super Saver Dollar Store chain plans to set up shop and run the Bottom Dollar out of town, things go catawampus.” – from the book description of Bet Your Bottom Dollar by Karen Gillespie, published in 2004
https://tinyreadingroom.blogspot.com/2008_05_01_archive.html
There definitely seems to be a Southern connection with catawampus. I found it on blogs about Southern living, books about Southern life (like this one), and in Southern newspapers. I live in the Northwest, so that doesn’t explain why I love the word….
“She looked back, and saw that the catawampus was growling on the brink, unable to catch her here.” -from a Roc and a Hard Place by Piers Anthony, published in 1996
https://www.wordnik.com/words/catawampus
…. but, in the 1990’s, I devoured every book Piers Anthony wrote, so I’m certain I read this one. Maybe that explains my continuing delight with the word. This book uses the less common definition of catawampus as a fierce, mythical beast. I still love a word that’s versatile enough to fit my mood!
Teaching Catawampus to Your Students
Are you ready to help your students discover this comedic gem? Anytime you can get them laughing, you will get them learning! So, download this FREE resource today. It includes everything you need to teach your students this word. You will get a lesson plan with a student printable covering the basics of the word – definition, spelling, picture….. The lesson plan includes two ways to use the printable – try both to see what works best in your classroom. And there is a class discussion protocol that encourages students to play with language. I use Examples and Non-examples in my classroom all the time, and it is a fun way to get students to use the target word and really deepen their understanding of the word.
All this for FREE!
Be sure to check back often as I have lots more fun WordWise plans. If you are a logophile, I think you’ll enjoy this journey with me.
Happy Teaching!
Susan
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