crazy quilt

noun

1. a patchwork quilt made of irregular patches combined with little or no regard to pattern.
2. something that is irregular in pattern or shape, and suggestive of a crazy quilt; patchwork.

crazy quilt

noun

1. a patchwork quilt made from assorted pieces of material of irregular shape, size, and colour

Other Words From

• crazy-quilt adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of crazy quilt¹

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90

Example Sentences

Rounding out this crazy quilt of strained, intersecting story strands and blunt coincidences is a subplot that eventually becomes the main one.

From Los Angeles Times

Over many years, as it grew into one of the city’s tent-pole institutions, the museum accreted some two dozen buildings in different historical styles, increasingly pieced together like a crazy quilt.

From New York Times

“The Georgia statute kicks it to the school districts to develop their own policies, and we are seeing a crazy quilt,” Weber said.

From Washington Post

Even so, this is an irresistible crazy quilt of Western history.

From Los Angeles Times

I felt as if the final piece of a crazy quilt had just been stitched in place.

From Literature