contraption

WOTD – 18 March 2008    

English

Etymology

Originally a Western US English dialectical word. Unknown origin. Perhaps from contrive + trap + -tion

Pronunciation

• (RP, US) IPA: /kənˈtræp.ʃən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

contraption (plural contraptions)

1. A machine that is complicated and precarious.
2. (figuratively, derogatory or sarcastic) Any object.
   • 1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter XII:

     “Yes, sir, if that was the language of love, I'll eat my hat,” said the blood relation, alluding, I took it, to the beastly straw contraption in which she does her gardening, concerning which I can only say that it is almost as foul as Uncle Tom's Sherlock Holmes deerstalker, which has frightened more crows than any other lid in Worcestershire.

Synonyms

• (mechanical device): contrivance, device, fandango, gadget, mechanism

Translations

complicated and precarious machine

• Finnish: vekotin (fi), vempain (fi), vehje (fi), hilavitkutin (fi)
• Russian: (хитроу́мное) приспособление (ru) (prisposoblénije) n, (хитроу́мное) устройство (ru) (ustrójstvo) n

object referred to with irony, derision or contempt

• Finnish: härveli (fi), rakkine (fi)
• Russian: штуковина (ru) (štukóvina) f, штучка (ru) (štúčka) f, ерунда (ru) (jerundá) f, ерундовина (ru) (jerundóvina) f, хреновина (ru) (xrenóvina) f, фигня (ru) (fignjá) f

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Icelandic: tæki (is) n
• Italian: aggeggio (it) m, congegno (it) m, coso (it) m, diavoleria (it) f
• Serbo-Croatian: sprava (sh), naprava (sh), скаламерија (sh) (skalamerija) f