curlie-wurlie, curly-wurly
(ˈkɜːlɪˈwɜːlɪ)
[A reduplicated extension of curly; perhaps with some reference in the second part to whirl, in Sc. whurl.]
A fantastically curled ornament.
| a 1772 Wilkie in Lockhart Scott l, I thought the beauty of architecture consisted in curlie wurlies, but now I find it consists in symmetry and proportion. 1818 Scott Rob Roy xix, Ah! it's a brave kirk—nane o' yere whigmaleeries and curliwurlies and open-steek hems about it. 1883 Century Mag. Sept. 722/2 Its leaves are slit in half and provided with æsthetical curly-wurlies. |