screwball

English

Etymology

From screw +‎ ball.

Compare typologically German Spinner (akin to spin). Also compare weirdo and weird, from Old English wyrd (“fate”), ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *wert- (“to turn, to spin”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈskɹuːbɔːl/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːbɔːl

Noun

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, informal, somewhat derogatory) One who behaves in a crazy manner.

   I will not listen to this screwball any longer.

3. A screwball comedy.

Translations

type of pitch

• German: Screwball m
• Japanese: スクリュー (ja) (sukuryū)
• Korean: 스크루볼 (seukeurubol)

crazy person

• Bulgarian: чешит (bg) m (češit)
• Finnish: sekopää (fi)
• French: fêlé (fr) m
• German: Spinner (de) f, Verrückter (de) m, Irrer (de) m, hirnverbrannter Typ m
• Romanian: țicnit (ro) m or n

Adjective

screwball (comparative more screwball, superlative most screwball)

1. (originally US, informal, somewhat derogatory) 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.

   • 2020, Christopher J. Olson, CarrieLynn D. Reinhard, The Greatest Cult Television Shows of All Time, page 170:

     Unleashed as part of the second wave of Nicktoons, Rocko's Modern Life introduced young viewers to the sort of existential crises that adults face daily, all while delighting both kids and grownups with witty observational humor, screwball characters, and subversive gags.

Derived terms

• screwball comedy

Translations

crazy, offbeat, bizarre

• German: verrückt (de), absurd (de), hirnverbrannt

See also

• goofball
• oddball