cuckoo
adjective
Pronunciation
KOO-koo
Definition
1 : of, relating to, or resembling the cuckoo
2 : deficient in sense or intelligence : silly
Did You Know?
The cuckoo bird is so named for its one-note song, which in Middle English was represented as cuccu in imitation. Figurative use of cuckoo, which exists as an adjective meaning "crazy" or "weak in intellect or common sense," and as a noun for a person who can be described as such, may be an allusion to the bird's eponymous (and monotonous) call. But it may also be inspired by a peculiar habit exhibited by some species, in which a female will lay her eggs in the nest of another bird, to be hatched by that bird. In Old French, the name of the bird, cucu, also refers to a husband whose wife is unfaithful. That sense is believed to come from the female cuckoo bird's habit in some species of changing mates, or to the same egg-laying habit that influenced English figurative use. Cucu is also the source of English cuckold.
Examples
One of the kids had some cuckoo theory about the house being demolished because of evidence of a UFO landing visible in the tiles of its roof.
"[He] says the condiment is for sale and called 'Kathy's Ketchup.' Really, it's Judy's.… It's named for Judy Ebbinghaus, a former co-owner who recently parted ways with the operation. While the visitors might not notice this slip-up, it's the kind of thing that makes a journalist go a little cuckoo." — Julie Ann Grimm, The Santa Fe Reporter, 8 Nov. 2017
Test Your Vocabulary
Fill in the blanks to complete an adjective meaning "like or belonging to the cuckoos": c _ _ _ l _ f _ r _.
Merriam-Webster
http://grammarandpunctuationmodule4.blogspot.com.au/
No comments:
Post a Comment