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
Such rules might feel like another patch on the country’s crazy quilt of covid-19 rules for diners, but experts say they serve two purposes.
From Washington Post • Aug. 5, 2021
Such rules might feel like another patch on the country’s crazy quilt of COVID-19 rules for diners, but experts say they serve two purposes.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 5, 2021
I felt as if the final piece of a crazy quilt had just been stitched in place.
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.
