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crazy quilt

American  

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 British  

noun

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • crazy-quilt adjective

Etymology

Origin of crazy quilt

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Several of the Founding Fathers—and nearly everyone around them—devoured Laurence Sterne’s crazy quilt of a tale.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 25, 2022

Such rules might feel like another patch on the country’s crazy quilt of covid-19 rules for diners, but experts say they serve two purposes.

From Washington Post • Aug. 5, 2021

Chigi brought in the finest artists of the day to fresco the loggias; the result is a delightful crazy quilt of mythological scenes and astrological symbols.

From New York Times • Aug. 18, 2020

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

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.