Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Ridiculous, absurd, or nonsensical: Describes something that is so foolish, implausible, or poorly conceived that it invites disbelief or laughter.
   • Preposterous or ludicrous: Often used to characterize ideas, plans, stories, or excuses that are clearly silly or lacking in sense.

Examples of Usage

• Adjective:
  • He gave me some cockamamie excuse about his car being abducted by aliens.
  • The company's new marketing strategy seems utterly cockamamie to the experienced staff.
  • Don't believe that cockamamie story; it's full of holes.

Advanced Usage

• Used for emphasis: The word often carries a tone of dismissive contempt or amused exasperation, highlighting the speaker's judgment that something is not just wrong but foolishly so.

  • After listening to his cockamamie theory for an hour, I had to leave the room.

• Informal register: "Cockamamie" is primarily used in informal, conversational English, particularly in American English. It is less common in formal writing.

Variants and Related Words

• Cockamamy: An alternative, less common spelling of the same adjective.
  • That's a cockamamy idea if I've ever heard one.

Synonyms

• Absurd: Wildly unreasonable, illogical, or inappropriate.
• Preposterous: Contrary to reason or common sense; utterly absurd or ridiculous.
• Ludicrous: So foolish, unreasonable, or out of place as to be amusing.
• Asinine: Extremely stupid or foolish.

Idioms and Common Phrases

(While "cockamamie" itself is not typically part of a larger idiom, it is commonly used in phrases that describe nonsensical things.) - A cockamamie idea/plan/story/excuse: The standard collocation, used to label the specific thing as ridiculous. - She came up with a cockamamie plan to get rich by selling bottled moonlight.

Adjective

1. ludicrous, foolish
   • gave me a cockamamie reason for not going
   • wore a goofy hat
   • a silly idea
   • some wacky plan for selling more books