Pronunciation: ['kil-têr]
Definition: (Slang) Alignment, balance, good general condition.
Usage: Another slang word with a meaning similar to that of "kilter" is "whack." If something is out of kilter, it is somehow misaligned, out of balance. If it is out of whack it is not working correctly, possibly not working at all. You can bring something back into kilter but we cannot say that we have brought something back into whack or that it is in whack. "Out of whack" is an absolute idiom allowing no variation. Now, let me take a whack at distinguishing between "kilter" and "whack."
Suggested Usage: "Kilter" tends to be favored in reference to abstract objects: "The number of seats in Congress occupied by women is out of kilter with their proportion of the general population." You could say, "Your job is to keep the car engine in good kilter." In the U.S. "whack" is preferred with concrete objects, "I can't mow the lawn today; my back is out of whack."
Etymology: U.S. variant of "kelter," dialectal term found from Northumberland and Cumberland to Cornwall since the late 17th century (OED). The origin is unknown. Is it relevant that another meaning of "kelter" in the North Country is "money"? "Whack" is probably onomatopoetic (imitative) given its frequent expletive use: "Whack! The ball sailed deep into left field." The idiom "out of whack" is probably the origin of wacky "crazy" since both "out of whack" and "wacky" originate in the U.S.
Possibly, how Chuck feels when I digress.
1 comment:
Perhaps the origin of the terms comes from the whacky high country men in kilts. The kilts were maybe off a bit in alignment, slightly off-kilter, shall we say, with their little wackies showing.
xoxo
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