wild and woolly
idiom
chiefly US, informal
: very wild : without order or control
His novels were about the wild and woolly Western frontier.
a wild and woolly love affair
Examples of wild and woolly in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This is a departure for a major studio like Paramount — one that reflects TV’s wild and woolly new world order.
—
Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 21 Feb. 2025
Over the course of 10 wild and woolly national TV dates, Campbell’s charges scared up 22.6 million viewers per game, edging the perennial ratings champs in Dallas by some 175,000 impressions.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 17 Jan. 2025
Neil Irwin Aug 5, 2024 - Economy Global markets go wild and woolly as U.S. economic outlook shifts
There is no reason that a 0.2 percentage point rise in the U.S. unemployment rate should trigger a 12% collapse in the price of Japanese stocks.
—Neil Irwin, Axios, 6 Aug. 2024
Another wet, wild and woolly storm is about to slam into Northern California.
—Sarah Linn, Sacramento Bee, 27 Feb. 2024
Ausubel has concocted a wild and woolly global escapade about unbounded scientific experimentation.
—Heller McAlpin, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Apr. 2023
Ausubel has concocted a wild and woolly global escapade about unbounded scientific experimentation.
—Heller McAlpin, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Apr. 2023
Essentially a scathing series of wild and woolly Williams monologues against the military establishment, Good Morning, Vietnam should delight Williams fans, as well as grunts everywhere.
—Duane Byrge, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Dec. 2022
Back from the Thanksgiving holiday, there is a lot of news to get to this week, including a report card on the SLS rocket's performance (excellent) and some wild and woolly news from north of the US border.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 2 Dec. 2022
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Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 21 Feb. 2025
Over the course of 10 wild and woolly national TV dates, Campbell’s charges scared up 22.6 million viewers per game, edging the perennial ratings champs in Dallas by some 175,000 impressions.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 17 Jan. 2025
Neil Irwin Aug 5, 2024 - Economy Global markets go wild and woolly as U.S. economic outlook shifts
There is no reason that a 0.2 percentage point rise in the U.S. unemployment rate should trigger a 12% collapse in the price of Japanese stocks.
—Neil Irwin, Axios, 6 Aug. 2024
Another wet, wild and woolly storm is about to slam into Northern California.
—Sarah Linn, Sacramento Bee, 27 Feb. 2024
Ausubel has concocted a wild and woolly global escapade about unbounded scientific experimentation.
—Heller McAlpin, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Apr. 2023
Ausubel has concocted a wild and woolly global escapade about unbounded scientific experimentation.
—Heller McAlpin, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Apr. 2023
Essentially a scathing series of wild and woolly Williams monologues against the military establishment, Good Morning, Vietnam should delight Williams fans, as well as grunts everywhere.
—Duane Byrge, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Dec. 2022
Back from the Thanksgiving holiday, there is a lot of news to get to this week, including a report card on the SLS rocket's performance (excellent) and some wild and woolly news from north of the US border.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 2 Dec. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Wild and woolly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wild%20and%20woolly. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
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