queer as a clockwork orange
English
Etymology
Cockney phrase from East London indicating something bizarre internally, but appearing natural and normal on the surface. Author Anthony Burgess appropriated the phrase for the title of his novella A Clockwork Orange.
Adjective
queer as a clockwork orange
- (simile) Strange, odd, unusual.
- (simile) Unusually camp, unusually homosexual.
- 1997, Tony Harrison, quoted in Sandie Byrne's introduction to Tony Harrison: Loiner (ed Sandie Byrne, 1997)
- He sauntered the flunkied restaurant, queer /As a clockwork orange and not scared. /God, I was grateful for the nights we shared.
- 1997, Tony Harrison, quoted in Sandie Byrne's introduction to Tony Harrison: Loiner (ed Sandie Byrne, 1997)
Synonyms
- (strange, unusual): queer as a nine bob note, queer as a three dollar bill, queer as a coot
Translations
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked
|
|
References
- 2002, Dominic Head, The Cambridge Introduction to Modern British Fiction, 1950-2000
- (footnote) Morrison observes that the title is taken from a Cockney expression, 'as queer as a clockwork orange' which means 'very queer indeed', with or without a sexual implication.