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harum-scarum

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Harum Scarum
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har⋅um-scar⋅um

  [hair-uhm-skair-uhm, har-uhm-skar-uhm]
Use harum-scarum in a Sentence
–adjective
1. reckless; rash; irresponsible: He had a harum-scarum youth.
2. disorganized; uncontrolled.
–adverb
3. recklessly; wildly: He ran harum-scarum all over the place.
–noun
4. a reckless person.
5. reckless or unpredictable behavior or action.
Origin:
1665–75; earlier harum-starum rhyming compound based on obs. hare to harass + stare

Related forms:
har⋅um-scar⋅um⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1, 2. erratic, impulsive, impetuous; giddy, scatterbrained.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Harum Scarum
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www.TCM.com/Musicals
Harum Scarum at Amazon
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har·um-scar·um   (hâr'əm-skâr'əm, hār'əm-skār'əm)   
adj.  Lacking a sense of responsibility; reckless.
adv.  With abandon; recklessly.

[Perhaps alteration of hare 'em, scare 'em : hare, to frighten + scare.]
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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Word Origin & History

harum-scarum 
1674, probably a compound of obsolete hare "harry" + scare, with 'um as a reduced form of them.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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