harum-scarum

harum-scarum
harum-scarumness, n.
/hair"euhm skair"euhm, har"euhm skar"euhm/, adj.
1. reckless; rash; irresponsible: He had a harum-scarum youth.
2. disorganized; uncontrolled.
adv.
3. recklessly; wildly: He ran harum-scarum all over the place.
n.
4. a reckless person.
5. reckless or unpredictable behavior or action.
[1665-75; earlier harum-starum rhyming compound based on obs. hare to harass + STARE]
Syn. 1, 2. erratic, impulsive, impetuous; giddy, scatterbrained.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • harum-scarum — [her′əm sker′əm] adj. [< ? HARE + SCARE + EM] acting or done in a reckless or rash way; irresponsible adv. in a harum scarum manner n. a harum scarum person or action …   English World dictionary

  • Harum-scarum — Har um scar um (h[^a]r [u^]m*sk[^a]r [u^]m), a. [Cf. hare,v. t., and scare, v. t.] Wild; giddy; flighty; rash; thoughtless. [Colloq.] [1913 Webster] They had a quarrel with Sir Thomas Newcome s own son, a harum scarum lad. Thackeray. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • harum-scarum — 1670s (adv.), probably a compound of obsolete HARE (Cf. hare) (v.) harry + SCARE (Cf. scare) (v.), with um as a reduced form of them. As an adjective from 1751; as a noun from 1784 …   Etymology dictionary

  • harum-scarum — [adj] reckless carefree, careless, daring, disorderly, erratic, flighty, foolhardy, giddy, haphazard, hasty, imprudent, irresponsible, light minded, negligent, rash, regardless, romping, scatty, thoughtless, wild; concepts 401,542 …   New thesaurus

  • harum-scarum — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ reckless; impetuous. ORIGIN from HARE(Cf. ↑hare) and SCARE(Cf. ↑scare) …   English terms dictionary

  • Harum Scarum — Infobox Movie name = Harum Scarum imdb id = 0059255 producer = Sam Katzman director = Gene Nelson Eddie Saeta (Ass t) writer = Elwood Ullman Edward Bernds starring = Elvis Presley Mary Ann Mobley music = Fred Karger cinematography = Fred Jackman… …   Wikipedia

  • harum-scarum — 1. adjective /ˌhɛrəmˈskɛrəm/ wild, careless, irresponsible Lesters good heart will be to hear that little Peter is so improved;no longer a dissolute, harum scarum fellow, throwing away his money, and always in debt. 2. adverb /ˌhɛrəmˈskɛrəm/… …   Wiktionary

  • harum-scarum — I. adv informal In a careless, disorderly or reckless way. Jim does his homework harum scarum, and that is why his schoolwork is so poor. II. adj informal Careless, wild, or disorderly in one s acts or performance; reckless. Jack is such a harum… …   Словарь американских идиом

  • harum-scarum(1) — {adv.}, {informal} In a careless, disorderly or reckless way. * /Jim does his homework harum scarum, and that is why his schoolwork is so poor./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • harum-scarum(2) — {adj.}, {informal} Careless, wild, or disorderly in one s acts or performance; reckless. * /Jack is such a harum scarum boy that you can never depend on him to do anything right./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

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