Tilted or crooked to one side; also means absurd or completely ridiculous.
Originally from 'cock-eyed' where 'cock' meant to tip or tilt something (like cocking a gun). The word combined with 'eyed' to describe something that seems to look sideways or askew, then expanded to mean 'wrong' or 'silly.'
The phrase 'cockeyed optimist' comes from the musical 'South Pacific' and describes someone who has such absurdly unrealistic hope despite obvious problems—it's become a standard phrase in American English!
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