screwball

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English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

screw +‎ ball

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈskɹuːbɔːl/
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -uːbɔːl

Noun[edit]

screwball (plural screwballs)

  1. (baseball) A pitch thrown with added pressure by the index finger and a twisting wrist motion resulting in a motion to the right when thrown by a right-handed pitcher.
    The screwball is not thrown much because it tends to damage pitcher's arms.
  2. (US) One who behaves in a crazy manner.
    I will not listen to this screwball any longer.

Translations[edit]

Adjective[edit]

screwball (comparative more screwball, superlative most screwball)

  1. (originally US) Crazy, offbeat, bizarre, zany, or weird.
    • 2013 January 11, Tom Shone, The Guardian[1]:
      Also a big hand for Silver Linings Playbook, an exuberant modern screwball comedy we had, in an unseemly fit of cynicism, deemed "too entertaining" for Academy voters.

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]