gallimaufry
Americannoun
-
a hodgepodge; confused medley; jumble.
- Synonyms:
- omnium-gatherum, miscellany, mixed bag, grab bag, goulash, muddle, mess, welter, tangle, mixture, mishmash, mélange, medley, hotchpotch, hodgepodge, hash, farrago
-
a ragout or hash.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of gallimaufry
First recorded in 1545–55; from Middle French galimafree “kind of sauce or stew,” probably a conflation of galer “to amuse oneself” and Picard dialect mafrer “to gorge oneself” (from Middle Dutch moffelen “to eat, nosh”); see also gallant
Explanation
Use the noun gallimaufry when you're talking about a jumbled mix of things. You might describe your family's traditional Thanksgiving meal as a gallimaufry of Italian, American, and Mexican dishes. Any mishmash of stuff can be called a gallimaufry. You might have a gallimaufry of socks in your drawer, all different colors and sizes and patterns, or a gallimaufry of guests at your birthday party. You could criticize a writer's short story collection as a gallimaufry of pieces, all with different, mismatched moods and styles. Gallimaufry comes from the French galimafrée, "hash or ragout," from the Old French calimafree, "unappetizing stew or sauce."
Vocabulary lists containing gallimaufry
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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.
On the wall of his study, he keeps a gallimaufry of images—among them Dylan, Freud, David Bowie, his mother, and Brian Eno.
From The New Yorker ● Nov. 4, 2019
In the 1980s as in the 1880s, “the rich gallimaufry of fame”, as Barnes writes, was predominantly male.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 26, 2019
And last: Once among the devoted perusers In The Post, of the scribblings of Losers, With an effort I tore free From a sad gallimaufry Of literary-substance-abusers.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 9, 2015
The creation story behind this journalistic gallimaufry is worthy of an episode of “30 Rock.”
From New York Times ● May 7, 2010
He shows me how to make a gallimaufry, a stew of diced meat, onion, and vegetables, with mustard, ginger, and vinegar.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
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.
