screwball

[skroo-bawl]

noun

1. Slang.,  an eccentric or irrational person; a nut.

   When the FBI first looked into him, they thought he was a harmless screwball.

2. Baseball.,  a pitched ball that curves toward the side of the plate from which it was thrown, in a trajectory opposite to that of a curve ball.

   Has the once popular screwball vanished completely from the major leagues?

adjective

1. Slang.,  eccentric or irrational; nutty.

   What a screwball idea!

screwball

/ ˈskruːˌbɔːl /

noun

1. an odd or eccentric person

adjective

1. odd; zany; eccentric

Word History and Origins

Origin of screwball¹

First recorded in 1865–70; in 1935–40 screwball for def. 2; screw + ball ¹

Example Sentences

Before that, though, she inevitably reached back for “Call Me Maybe,” delivering the song while pulling daffy faces that made her look like the star of some forgotten ’30s screwball comedy.

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“The Good Place” star proves she is as at home with screwball comedy as she is with drama.

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They’re the only actors who’ve internalized that this is screwball stuff, despite the realistic cinematography that throws wet burlap on the nonsense.

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"The Residence" is an "Upstairs, Downstairs" screwball murder mystery set in the East Wing, the residence wing of the White House, during an Australian state dinner.

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The latest show in her Netflix deal, though, portrays it as a blank collection of staircases and parlors not unlike others where all-star ensembles marry screwball comedy with murder.

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