Definition

1. Noun:

   • A whimsically eccentric person: A "screwball" is a person who behaves in a strange, unconventional, and often amusingly foolish way.
   • A pitch with reverse spin in baseball: In baseball, a "screwball" is a type of pitch thrown with reverse spin, causing it to curve in the opposite direction of a typical curveball.

2. Adjective:

   • Foolish; totally unsound: When used as an adjective, "screwball" describes an idea, plan, or proposal that is crazy, impractical, or ridiculous.

Usage Examples

• Noun (person):
  • My uncle is a real screwball; he once tried to build a rocket in his garage.
  • The movie is about a screwball who inherits a zoo and tries to run it.
• Noun (baseball pitch):
  • The pitcher's best weapon was his devastating screwball.
  • He practiced for hours to perfect his screwball.
• Adjective:
  • That's a screwball idea that will never work.
  • They came up with a screwball scheme to get rich quick.

Advanced Usage

• "Screwball comedy": A genre of film, popular in the 1930s and 1940s, characterized by fast-paced, witty dialogue and improbable, chaotic situations involving eccentric characters.
  • "Bringing Up Baby" is a classic example of a screwball comedy.

Variants and Related Words

• Screwballer (n): A baseball pitcher who specializes in throwing the screwball.
  • He was known as one of the best screwballers in the league.

Synonyms

• Noun (person): eccentric, oddball, crackpot, kook, weirdo.
• Adjective: crazy, absurd, ludicrous, preposterous, half-baked.

Related Idioms

• "To be/go screwball": To act in a crazy or eccentric manner. (Note: This is a less common, informal usage derived from the noun.)
  • He's gone completely screwball since he retired.

Adjective

1. foolish; totally unsound
   • a crazy scheme
   • half-baked ideas
   • a screwball proposal without a prayer of working

Noun

1. a pitch with reverse spin that curves toward the side of the plate from which it was thrown
2. a whimsically eccentric person