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cater-corner

Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective US, Canada Of or pertaining to something at a diagonal to another; of four corners, those diagonal to another.
  • adverb US, Canada Diagonally across from.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

cater- +‎ corner, where cater- is of disputed origin. Liberman argues that this is a prefix meaning “crooked, angled, clumsy”, of North Germanic origin; compare cater-cousin. The verb cater ("move diagonally, place diagonally, cut diagonally") is attested from 1577 (Liberman proposes this as a backformation from cater-), and in 19th century Lancashire dialect, cater-cornered refers both to stone blocks that are out of square, and people who walk twisted (with one side in front of the other), especially if partially paralyzed. Further awkward and clumsy are of Scandinavian origin, and Old Irish cittach ("left-handed, awkward") is cognate to cater- words, also suggesting a Scandinavian origin.

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Examples

  • There's another bad one of these facilities (but smaller) on Belmont, cater-corner from the dairy.

    Portland hospitality (Jack Bog's Blog) 2009

  • San Miguelito, cater-corner from the Convention Center, has a great restaurant and a bar that resembles a bullfighting arena.

    Night life in Morelia 2004

  • Then I turned back to Kit, who was in a cage cater-corner to mine.

    The Lake House Patterson, James, 1947- 2003

  • Opened a little over a year ago, atop Burger King, cater-corner from the Virrey de Mendoza is Casa del Portal, which was a private home until its reincarnation as an eatery, café, and antique shop.

    The colonial cities 1999

  • Opened a little over a year ago, atop Burger King, cater-corner from the Virrey de Mendoza is Casa del Portal, which was a private home until its reincarnation as an eatery, café, and antique shop.

    The colonial cities 1999

  • For reading and occasional headaches, she wore a pair of horn-rimmed spectacles prescribed but not specially ground by the optical department, cater-corner from the children's shoes.

    Humoresque A Laugh on Life with a Tear Behind It Fannie Hurst 1928

  • He and others have set their sights on Fletcher Bowron Square, a concrete plaza cater-corner to City Hall that is a popular daytime hangout for homeless people.

    News - latimes.com 2011

  • Its 14-story height, considerably greater than that of its neighbors, echoes the brick and limestone gothic tower of the Union Theological Seminary, which stands cater-corner across the street.

    NYT > Home Page By NICOLAI OUROUSSOFF 2011

  • The statue's arrival in January at the museum entrance, cater-corner from the iconic portrait of

    NYT > Global Home By ANDREW JACOBS 2011

  • The site cater-corner to the historic Biltmore Hotel is used for parking now but was one of the most important locations in the city for nearly 100 years.

    blogdowntown: Life in Downtown Los Angeles (Stories+Headlines) 2010

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cross-references (3)

Cross-references

  1. catawampus
  2. cattywampus
  3. kittywampus

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