curiouser and curiouser

English

WOTD – 2 November 2022

Etymology

From Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) by the English author Lewis Carroll (1832–1898): see the quotation.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌkjʊəɹɪəsə n̩ ˈkjʊəɹɪəsə/, /ˈkjɔː-/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌkjʊɹiəsɚ n̩ ˈkjʊɹiəsɚ/
• Hyphenation: cu‧ri‧ous‧er and cu‧ri‧ous‧er

Phrase

curiouser and curiouser

1. (idiomatic) Used to describe or react to an increasingly mysterious or peculiar situation.
   • 1865 November (indicated as 1866), Lewis Carroll [pseudonym; Charles Lutwidge Dodgson], “The Pool of Tears”, in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, London: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, page 15:

     "Curiouser and curiouser!" cried Alice (she was so much surprised, that for the moment she quite forgot how to speak good English); "now I'm opening out like the largest telescope that ever was! Good-bye, feet!"

   • 2015 March 20, Robert Mackey, “Greco-German ‘Fingergate’ gets curiouser and curiouser”, in The New York Times‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 18 January 2022:

     Greco-German ‘Fingergate’ Gets Curiouser and Curiouser [title]

Translations

used to describe or react to an increasingly mysterious or peculiar situation

• Finnish: kummallisempaa ja kummallisempaa
• Hungarian: (quote from the translation) furcsul, egyre furcsul, (paraphrasis) egyre furcsábbak a dolgok
• Russian: всё стра́ньше и стра́ньше (vsjo stránʹše i stránʹše)

See also

• the plot thickens

Further reading

• “curiouser and curiouser” under “curious, adj. and adv.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2022.