IN north central Pennsylvania it’s “skweehawed” and applies to things like car doors that fall out of alignment and thereafter creak and groan when moved.
I recognize the term whopperjawed. I grew up in Oregon in the ’50s & ’60, but if I picked it up from my parents, they were from northern Wisconsin.
Laurie Sutherland:
August 2nd, 2012 at 9:44 pm
“If the points are off and it’s kind of skeejaw, why you know they really don’t care that much about it.” This term Mom used might have been used by quilters, and her grandmother (Pennsylvania Dutch) was one all of her life. Skeejaw is used on this webpage of the Quilt Alliance: http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/qsos/interview.php?kid=14-31-D45
Nik Berry:
August 29th, 2012 at 2:44 pm
The OED has ‘skewgee’ with the same meaning.
Erin W.:
October 14th, 2013 at 7:47 pm
My mother uses “squeejawed”–she grew up in the 1950s-’60s in Colorado and, as the kid of missionaries, in Japan. I’ll have to ask where she picked it up!
Ryan:
October 23rd, 2014 at 10:19 pm
Central Michigan area here. A few members of my mothers family (from the same area) have used this one in the past. Typically as “squeejawed”
thomas jay a long:
March 11th, 2015 at 6:57 pm
My grandmother is 69 now. She is where i heard the word squeejaw for the first time. She first heard it from another kid when she was growing up in san francisco.
There is apparently a bunch to identify about this. I believe you made certain nice points in features also.
MacKenzie:
April 10th, 2016 at 5:33 pm
My mom and grandma are also from central NY and both use this term. It is also on urban dictionary as “squeehawed.”
Linda Crowe:
June 9th, 2016 at 12:03 am
In Oregon I grew up in the 50’s using this saying and still do, occasionally. The word “squeejawed” to me means not straight or “off” in some way. My family originated in England and spent time in Indiana, Iowa, South Dakota and Wyoming.
Chris:
January 27th, 2018 at 11:44 am
My dad used to say something was squeehawed if it was crooked or all messed up. My mom claimed that she first heard him use the term when he returned from serving in the Coast Guard during WWII.
Alice Kane:
March 7th, 2018 at 6:39 am
My Delaware County neighbor/ born around 1922, taught me several expressions (she went “down street” instead of downtown, for example), but she said that things were “squeehonkey” when they were mixed up or out of order.
Mei:
July 13th, 2019 at 1:07 pm
Squee haw is crooked, not square, not sitting right where I’m from (southern ontario, cottage country). I was just thinking about its origins and googled it. Might have first nations roots?
Philip:
August 14th, 2019 at 11:24 am
My English partner , born in 1939, calls it “ skew whiff “. Same meaning. I heard it as squee-jawed from my father who came down from the Midwest (Illinois), via Ohio and central New York.
Nancy:
September 14th, 2019 at 10:19 am
I am an over 70 senior from Michigan who uses the term skewjaw. The spelling is mine as I have never seen the word in print. The only person I have heard it from is my mother also born in MI. It means crooked or messed up.
Daniel Maybury:
November 20th, 2019 at 12:03 pm
We of Cortland and Preble NY learned that from our father Harold’s pronunciation as sounding like “skewjoyed” but, alas, we never saw it written.
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Victoria Ayers:
June 25th, 2012 at 2:43 pm
IN north central Pennsylvania it’s “skweehawed” and applies to things like car doors that fall out of alignment and thereafter creak and groan when moved.
OwenKL:
July 1st, 2012 at 7:16 am
I recognize the term whopperjawed. I grew up in Oregon in the ’50s & ’60, but if I picked it up from my parents, they were from northern Wisconsin.
Laurie Sutherland:
August 2nd, 2012 at 9:44 pm
“If the points are off and it’s kind of skeejaw, why you know they really don’t care that much about it.” This term Mom used might have been used by quilters, and her grandmother (Pennsylvania Dutch) was one all of her life. Skeejaw is used on this webpage of the Quilt Alliance: http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/qsos/interview.php?kid=14-31-D45
Nik Berry:
August 29th, 2012 at 2:44 pm
The OED has ‘skewgee’ with the same meaning.
Erin W.:
October 14th, 2013 at 7:47 pm
My mother uses “squeejawed”–she grew up in the 1950s-’60s in Colorado and, as the kid of missionaries, in Japan. I’ll have to ask where she picked it up!
Ryan:
October 23rd, 2014 at 10:19 pm
Central Michigan area here. A few members of my mothers family (from the same area) have used this one in the past. Typically as “squeejawed”
thomas jay a long:
March 11th, 2015 at 6:57 pm
My grandmother is 69 now. She is where i heard the word squeejaw for the first time. She first heard it from another kid when she was growing up in san francisco.
hofstra law:
September 13th, 2015 at 12:08 pm
There is apparently a bunch to identify about this. I believe you made certain nice points in features also.
MacKenzie:
April 10th, 2016 at 5:33 pm
My mom and grandma are also from central NY and both use this term. It is also on urban dictionary as “squeehawed.”
Linda Crowe:
June 9th, 2016 at 12:03 am
In Oregon I grew up in the 50’s using this saying and still do, occasionally. The word “squeejawed” to me means not straight or “off” in some way. My family originated in England and spent time in Indiana, Iowa, South Dakota and Wyoming.
Chris:
January 27th, 2018 at 11:44 am
My dad used to say something was squeehawed if it was crooked or all messed up. My mom claimed that she first heard him use the term when he returned from serving in the Coast Guard during WWII.
Alice Kane:
March 7th, 2018 at 6:39 am
My Delaware County neighbor/ born around 1922, taught me several expressions (she went “down street” instead of downtown, for example), but she said that things were “squeehonkey” when they were mixed up or out of order.
Mei:
July 13th, 2019 at 1:07 pm
Squee haw is crooked, not square, not sitting right where I’m from (southern ontario, cottage country). I was just thinking about its origins and googled it. Might have first nations roots?
Philip:
August 14th, 2019 at 11:24 am
My English partner , born in 1939, calls it “ skew whiff “. Same meaning. I heard it as squee-jawed from my father who came down from the Midwest (Illinois), via Ohio and central New York.
Nancy:
September 14th, 2019 at 10:19 am
I am an over 70 senior from Michigan who uses the term skewjaw. The spelling is mine as I have never seen the word in print. The only person I have heard it from is my mother also born in MI. It means crooked or messed up.
Daniel Maybury:
November 20th, 2019 at 12:03 pm
We of Cortland and Preble NY learned that from our father Harold’s pronunciation as sounding like “skewjoyed” but, alas, we never saw it written.