wack·y (wk
) also whack·y (hw
adj. wack·i·er, wack·i·est Slang1. Eccentric or irrational: a wacky person.2. Crazy; silly: a wacky outfit.[Variant of whacky, probably from the phrase out of whack; see whack.]wackwacki·ly adv.
"Wacky," it turns out, is itself so wacky that the 1964 New Roget's Thesaurus in Dictionary Form (Norman Lewis, editor) doesn't even provide a synonym for it, proceeding from "wabble or wobble"1 directly to "waddle." This, I must attribute to the unfortunate squareness of Mr. Lewis and his obvious difficulty with the Beatniks who were using such peculiar words, because he'd had plenty of time to get used to it by 1964. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, it had been around for awhile:
However, wacky is as wacky does. You must prepare yourself to receive the proper wackiness, which involves a certain degree of openness to the peculiar and an inclination towards adventure, whether that adventure is had in the corner booth at the Old Kings Road pub or on a mountainside loop of Route 1 overlooking the Pacific off Big Sur. It's all about attitude. And location. Readiness for the wacky will not help you if you hang about on the couch all day eating pita chips and and blowing up zombies on the television.3 You've got to get out there, out in the world, and keep your eyes and ears open to the details of life around you which, if properly appreciated, can lead you straight into bright new zones of wacky.
Or so I've heard.
"Crazy, eccentric," 1935, variant of whacky (n.) "fool," late 1800s British slang, probably ultimately from whack "a blow, stroke," from the notion of being whacked on the head one too many times. Wack "crazy person" is a 1938 back-formation; extended form wacko is recorded from 1977. Wack in slang sense of "worthless, stupid," is attested from late 1990s.But, wait! There's more, and I know you're thrilled to know it. The 1828 edition of Webster's Dictionary tells us this:
Lately it seems like I haven't got enough wacky2 in my life, or not the right kind of wacky, at any rate, and I'm not saying that because I've got a surplus of basalt in my closet. There's good wacky and bad wacky: the latter consists of tumultuous situations that tear at your sanity and elevate your blood pressure; the former consists of tumultuous situations that fire up the mind and inspire fabulous clothing choices.WACKY, n. A rock nearly allied to basalt, of which it may be regarded as a more soft and earthy variety. Its color is a greenish gray, brown or black. It is opake, yields easily to the knife, and has a greasy feel. Its principal ingredient is silex. Gray wacky is a different species of rock, being a kind of sandstone. Wacky is a mineral substance intermediate between clay and basalt.
However, wacky is as wacky does. You must prepare yourself to receive the proper wackiness, which involves a certain degree of openness to the peculiar and an inclination towards adventure, whether that adventure is had in the corner booth at the Old Kings Road pub or on a mountainside loop of Route 1 overlooking the Pacific off Big Sur. It's all about attitude. And location. Readiness for the wacky will not help you if you hang about on the couch all day eating pita chips and and blowing up zombies on the television.3 You've got to get out there, out in the world, and keep your eyes and ears open to the details of life around you which, if properly appreciated, can lead you straight into bright new zones of wacky.
Or so I've heard.
1I intend to work "wabble" into conversation as soon as possible.
2I have provided three definitions of "wacky," and in the best Savagian tradition, I have rejected them in favor of my own.
3Which is not to say that wackiness cannot be obtained while playing Resident Evil 5. However, the chances of it being the kind of wacky that involves random strangers crashing through your front door with guns, a suitcase of methamphetamine, and really clever dialogue, who then mistake you for someone else, force you into an El Camino at gunpoint, and take you on a 48-hour road trip through a bizarre series of scenes involving memorable fringe members of West Coast society to the accompaniment of a hip indie soundtrack, are greatly increased. All of which is, in fact, quite inspirational as far as wackiness qua wackiness goes, but the point is that you didn't really have anything to do with it, did you? You were just sitting on your couch being fat and playing video games and the wackiness found you by pure happenstance. It's not like you deserved the wackiness. You just lucked into it. You bastard.
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