DAILY SLANG......EXPLAINED

catawampus

noun, "a fierce and destructive creature"

OR

adjective, "askew, jumbled up."

(Sounded out like kittywompus)

EXPLANATION :

Catawampus is of uncertain origin. The first element is probably a variant of the same cater- in kitty-corner; this, we recall, means 'diagonal', and is ultimately from the Latin word quattuor 'four'. The second element may be related to the Scots word wampish 'to wriggle, twist, or swerve about'.

As an adjective meaning 'askew', catawampus is first recorded in the 1850s, and is in widespread use in all parts of the United States with the exception of the Northeast. In the adverbial sense 'diagonally', it dates to the turn of this century and is chiefly found in the Midlands and the South.