It all seems a bit CATAWAMPUS, doesn't it?

What's the word I'm thinking of? Today, it's...

CATAWAMPUS [kat-uh-WOM-pus] (noun or adjective)

1. Askew, crooked, diagonal (adjective)
2. An imaginary wild animal (noun)

"[T]he circle is the most beautiful shape in nature. Young gentlemen seem to be aware of this, and by means of a material called hair they contrive to manufacture faces of all forms, from a perfect circle to a catawampus ellipse. If they want an elliptical face, they create a patch of hairs on the chin...."
--North Carolina University Magazine (1852) (TWITO, page 29-30)

Try to imagine what an animal called a catawampus might look like. I picture a swamp-dwelling creature that would be a cross between a lion and an octopus. Or the Jabberwock.