Word of the Day

: March 17, 2011

galley-west

play
adverb gal-ee-WEST

What It Means

: into destruction or confusion

galley-west in Context

A rogue wave knocked the anchored boats galley-west.

"'Get the door, Scott.' 'Daddy, what if he's … there?' 'Then I'll knock him galley-west with this thing.'" -- From Stephen King's 2006 novel Lisey's Story


Did You Know?

American author Mark Twain is on record as one of the first to use "galley-west" in his writing. Etymologists believe the word is a corruption of dialectal English "colleywest" or "collyweston." The earliest appearance of those words, used with the meaning "askew or awry," dates from the late 16th century. The ultimate source of "colleywest" and "collyweston" is not known but is suspected to be from a personal name. When "galley-west" is used in speech or writing, the verb "knock" usually precedes it.



Test Your Memory

What recent Word of the Day is a synonym of "spittoon"? The answer is ...


Podcast


More Words of the Day

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!