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cockamamie

 - 4 dictionary results

cock⋅a⋅ma⋅mie

  [kok-uh-mey-mee]
Use cockamamie in a Sentence
–adjective Slang.
ridiculous, pointless, or nonsensical: full of wild schemes and cockamamie ideas.
Also, cock⋅a⋅ma⋅my.

Origin:
‡ 1940–45, Americanism; in orig. sense, paper strip with an image which could be transferred to the skin when moistened, appar. alter. of decalcomania; sense “ridiculous” prob. by assoc. with cock-and-bull story, poppycock, etc.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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cock·a·ma·mie also cock·a·ma·my   (kŏk'ə-mā'mē)   
adj.   Slang

  1. Trifling; nearly valueless.

  2. Ludicrous; nonsensical: gave me a cockamamie reason for not going.


[Probably alteration of decalcomania.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
cockamamie [ˈkɑkəmemi]

  1. mod.
    ridiculous; inconceivable. : That is the most cockamamie thing I ever heard of.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

cockamamie 
slang popularized c.1960, but originally perhaps c.1920 alt. of decalcomania (see decal).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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