cockamamy

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Pronunciations

cockamamy (KAHK-uh-may-mee) listen

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Definitions

  • adj. Absurd, ridiculous, foolish.

  • adj. Mixed-up, muddled.

Example Sentences

  • "Try to make a cockamamy idea work." (source)

  • “Did you ever hear such a cockamamy story?” (NJY)

  • “Of all the cockamamy excuses I ever heard.” (NJY)

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Languages of Origin

  • English

Etymology

  • From Cockamamie (a marketing term for a child's rub-on tattoo), a deliberate mispronunciation of the French decalcomania. Often falsely attributed to Yiddish.

      • Who Uses This

      • Jews: Jews of diverse religious backgrounds and organizational involvements
      • Non-Jews: (words that have spread outside of Jewish networks)
      • Ashkenazim: Jews with Ashkenazi heritage

      Regions

      • North America

      Dictionaries

      • The New Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten and Lawrence Bush (New York, 2003[1968]).
      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).

      Alternative Spellings

      cockamamie

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