Why do we say kitty-corner?

The term ‘kitty-corner’ has nothing to do with cats. Instead, it stems from the expression ‘cater-corner,’ which is derived from “quatre,” the French word for “four.” The term was used to describe the way the dots are placed on a dice positioned at number four, diagonally from one another.

Is kitty-corner an idiom?

A variant of the more technical term “cater-corner,” with “cater” meaning “to set or move diagonally.” Primarily heard in US. Thankfully the daycare is kitty-corner to my office, so dropping the kids off in the morning is really easy. See also: kitty-cornered.

What is another word for catty-corner?

What is another word for catty-corner?

athwart	crosswise
diagonally	kitty-corner
obliquely	transversely
on the bias	on the diagonal
aslant	cater-corner

What Does Kitty wampus mean?

Filters. (slang) Disorganized; poorly done; chaotic. adjective.

What is a catty-corner?

: in a diagonal or oblique position the house stood kitty-corner across the square.

Where do they say kitty-corner?

Regional Differences As you can see from the map of responses, people in the South, as far west as Texas and as far north as Pennsylvania and Nebraska, are much more likely to say catty-corner, whereas everyone else in the US and Canada is more likely to say kitty-corner.

What is a catty corner?

How do you use catty corner in a sentence?

There was a police car catty-corner across the street. two 50-foot-tall, steel and aluminum towers standing kitty-corner from each other.

Where did the saying Cattywampus come from?

Catawampus, meaning “askew, diagonal,” is first recorded in the 1830–40s. Originally, catawampus also meant “fierce.” It’s thought to be an American colloquialism influenced by the cater- in cater-cornered (or for many of us, kitty-corner) and wampish, Scottish for “flopping about.”