screwball
Slang. an eccentric or irrational person; a nut: When the FBI first looked into him, they thought he was a harmless screwball.
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?
Slang. eccentric or irrational; nutty: What a screwball idea!
Origin of screwball
1Words Nearby screwball
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use screwball in a sentence
It pops with screwball banter and the excitement of early 1950s TV.
‘Being the Ricardos’ pops with excitement of 1950s TV | Kathi Wolfe | January 13, 2022 | Washington BladeNine years sober, she’s an oddly appealing, well-meaning screwball.
Five new thrillers offer guilt-free distraction | Richard Lipez | January 15, 2021 | Washington PostUntil I watched “Bringing Up Baby,” the 1938 screwball comedy.
The show struggles to find its signature screwball pacing, and it can’t figure out how to circle around emotions without addressing them face on, as the earlier seasons did at their best.
We never tell him, 'Great screwball,' though, because then his elbow would hurt.
His Girl Friday (1940) A must for anyone interested in journalism (or screwball comedies).
Most Overlooked Romance Films for Valentine’s Day Weekend: ‘True Romance,’ ‘His Girl Friday,’ More | Marlow Stern | February 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe quirky tenor of his voice, combined with his observant, mocking tone, gelled perfectly with the screwball proceedings.
Why ‘Arrested Development’s’ Fourth Season Is a Bust: Contracts and More | Marlow Stern | May 28, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTTheir screwball-style repartee—intellectual rather than romantic—reveals not a sexual chemistry, but a winning comedic one.
‘Parenthood’: In Praise of Ray Romano’s Amazing Performance | Jace Lacob | October 2, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTThe Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare, by G.K. Chesterton—A nightmare all right: lurid, screwball, and grotesque.
An unpredictable, erratic screwball but one of the finest rocket riders who ever flashed through the void.
Larson's Luck | Gerald Vance"This is what I got out of checking all the screwball factories I could reach personal and by mail," Clocker said.
At the Post | Horace Leonard GoldWhatever came up—a screwball flying saucer or a berserk psycho waving a gun.
Twelve Times Zero | Howard Carleton Browne
British Dictionary definitions for screwball
/ (ˈskruːˌbɔːl) slang, mainly US and Canadian /
an odd or eccentric person
odd; zany; eccentric
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
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