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orthography - Etymology for "cacamayme"


I love using "cacamayme" in conversations when I really want to emphasize the "crazy" I am talking about.


I also love the Urban Dictionary's slang definition:



100% grade A Bologna.



Does anyone know where this word comes from, or how many different ways it can be spelled?


Edit - It looks as though the spelling I am using is Yiddish — here is a link.



Answer



The more common spelling is Cockamamie, which provides some likely suspects. Etymology Online and World Wide Words suggest that it's a jumbled and easier-to-pronounce version of the French décalcomanie, also source of the English decal.


Apparently decals were popular with children in New York City in the 1920s or '30s, where they came with candy and gum. How exactly cockamamie got its current meaning isn't entirely clear, though it likely relates to the frivolousness of these decals.


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