Kilter

[Perry]

kilter
in out of kilter (1628) variant of Eng. dial. kelter (1606) "good condition, order," of unknown origin.

A nice word, made all the more atractive by its unknown origin.

I wonder if it has anything to do with kilts. Not to be overly silly, but if kilt wearers are as exposed to the breeze as reported, if they were out-of-kilt, that would be out of kilter, wouldn't it?

[Bailey]

Oh Perry, nothing like going for the obvious joke, you beat me to it, rats!

mark tilting-at-kilts? Bailey

[Stargzer]

Years ago at Epcot we saw a band in the Canadian pavillion called "Off Kilter." A rock band wearing kilts and workboots, one of them played accordian, at times like a madman. Somewhere I have a videotape of them ...

[Perry]

I wonder if they were anything like this guy?

[skinem]

I prefer guys who stay in kilter.

It is a word that I don't remember hearing without the prefix "off"...

[Bailey]

I wonder if they were anything like this guy?

What a dreamer, lol have the grace to look abashed.

mark boys-in-dresses-ok-not-for-me Bailey

[Perry]

I would still be grateful if anyone can throw some light on the origins of the expression.

[gailr]

kelter

Etymology:
The word was once widely known in various English and Scots dialects from at least the 16th century onwards. Cf. Gael. & Ir. "cealt clothes"; Gael. "cealltair spear, castle, cause, prov"; Eng. dial. "kelter" (1606). There were several other dialect senses of "kelter", including that of money or property, rubbish or litter, silly talk or nonsense, or - as a verb - to move in an undulating manner. The origin is unknown, though the word might have derived from "kilt". On the other hand, some investigators think that the word started to be spelled "kilter" only in the 17th cent.

Perhaps your kilt hypothesis was not all that warped, Perry.

-gailr

Of course, being "kilt"--whether by the Kelts or others--would certainly put one out of "good condition, order".

[Perry]

I just hope that I didn't get too wrapped up in this thread.

[Stargzer]

I wonder if they were anything like this guy?

No, they had flannel shirts as I recall, and workboots, not combat boots.

Kinda like "Angus Goes to the North Woods."