cahoots · noun — chiefly preceded by in: collaboration or collusion, chiefly for a nefarious reason. It carries an Arena rating of 1677, earned across 8 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, cahoots ranks #1,369 of 17,197 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #1,591 of 17,159 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #2,116 of 17,201 for Funniest Words, #3,387 of 17,165 for Most Satisfying to Say.
cahoots is pronounced /kəˈhuːts/.
Why “cahoots” is a great word
A secretive partnership, especially for a dishonest or nefarious purpose, denoted by being in it. Its roots are in the earlier 'cahoot' with the plural suffix -s; 'cahoot' is probably borrowed from either French 'cahute' ('hut, shack'), itself from Dutch 'kajuit' ('cabin on a ship'), or from French 'cohorte' ('cohort, group'), from Latin 'cohors' ('cohort; crowd'), first attested in American English in 1829. Unlike “collaboration” (a neutral act of joint effort) or “alliance” (a formal pact for a shared aim), to be in cahoots is to be knit together in a furtive, illicit compact. It is the shared glance between card-players who have stacked the deck, the whispered arrangement in a shadowed alley, the slow nod between clerks as they divert goods into a hidden sack—a testament to the adhesive power of shared mischief, warm to the ear but never to be trusted.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From earlier cahoot + -s (suffix forming regular plurals of nouns). Cahoot is probably borrowed: * from French cahute (“hut, shack”), from Dutch kajuit (“cabin on a ship”), from Middle Low German kajüte, probably from Middle Dutch kayhute; further etymology uncertain, possibly borrowed from Old French *cahute, chahute (whence Middle French quahute), a blend of cabane (“cabin, hut, shack”) + hute (“hut”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewH- (“to conceal, hide; to cover; hide, skin”)); or * from French cohorte (“group of people supporting the same person or thing, cohort”), from Latin cohors (“cohort; crowd”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (“beside, by; near; with”) + *ǵʰer- (“to enclose”) (and if so, a doublet of cohort).
noun
- Chiefly preceded by in: collaboration or collusion, chiefly for a nefarious reason.e.g.“Those two are definitely in cahoots.”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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