crinkum-crankum

British

/ ˈkrɪŋkəmˈkræŋkəm /

noun

a fanciful name for any object that is full of twists and turns

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of crinkum-crankum

C18: coinage based on _crank ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

That was the kind of prank Solomon was up to, every day of his life; and fishing for schoolmaster's wig through the skylight, and every crinkum-crankum that ever was.

From Project Gutenberg

That crinkum-crankum tune, “Robin Adair,” has run so in my head, and I succeeded so ill in my last attempt, that I have ventured, in this morning’s walk, one essay more.

From Project Gutenberg

"I thought at the time," said Mr. Branghton, "that three shillings was an exorbitant price for a place in the gallery: but as we'd been asked so much at the other doors, why I paid it without many words; but, then, to be sure, thinks I, it can never be like any other gallery, we shall see some crinkum-crankum or other for our money; but I find it's as arrant a take-in as ever I met with."

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023