queer as a clockwork orange
"queer-as-a-clockwork-orange" is a 23-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“queer as a clockwork orange” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 27
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Strange, odd, unusual.
Corpus desk
Index EN-queer-as-a-clockwork-ora · queer as a clockwork orange · English
queer as a clockwork orange · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 27 letters
- VOW-10 10 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "Q" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | queer as a clockwork orange |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| Letters | 27 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “queer as a clockwork orange” in English
Rare enough to double-check
queer as a clockwork orange is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for queer as a clockwork orange, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Cockney phrase from East London indicating something bizarre internally, but appearing natural and normal on the surface. Author Anthony Burgess appropriated the phrase for the title of his novella A Clockwork Orange. The correct English form is queer as a clockwork orange, spelled Q-U-E-E-R- -A-S- -A- -C-L-O-C-K-W-O-R-K- -O-R-A-N-G-E.
Definition
- 1Strange, odd, unusual.
- 2Unusually camp, unusually homosexual.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how queer as a clockwork orange appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
He sauntered the flunkied restaurant, queer /As a clockwork orange and not scared. /God, I was grateful for the nights we shared.
Etymology
Cockney phrase from East London indicating something bizarre internally, but appearing natural and normal on the surface. Author Anthony Burgess appropriated the phrase for the title of his novella A Clockwork Orange.
Synonyms
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.