crazy quilt
Americannoun
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a patchwork quilt made of irregular patches combined with little or no regard to pattern.
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something that is irregular in pattern or shape, and suggestive of a crazy quilt; patchwork.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of crazy quilt
An Americanism dating back to 1885–90
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.
Several of the Founding Fathers—and nearly everyone around them—devoured Laurence Sterne’s crazy quilt of a tale.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 9, 2026
Even so, this is an irresistible crazy quilt of Western history.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2022
His career has been a fascinating hodgepodge of feints and fake-outs, a crazy quilt of dumb-smart action flicks, brainy meta-meditations, daring experiments, rom-coms, family films.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 20, 2022
Chigi brought in the finest artists of the day to fresco the loggias; the result is a delightful crazy quilt of mythological scenes and astrological symbols.
From New York Times ● Aug. 18, 2020
I peeked out my one window to be greeted by a sky like a gray flannel crazy quilt.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
