curiouser and curiouser

cu·ri·ous·er and cu·ri·ous·er
UK/ˌkjʊəɹɪəsə n̩ ˈkjʊəɹɪəsə/UK/ˈkjɔː-/US/ˌkjʊɹiəsɚ n̩ ˈkjʊɹiəsɚ/

phrase

Used to describe or react to an increasingly mysterious or peculiar situation.

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Meanings

phrase
  1. idiomaticUsed to describe or react to an increasingly mysterious or peculiar situation.

    Greco-German ‘Fingergate’ Gets Curiouser and Curiouser [title]

    2015 March 20, Robert Mackey, “Greco-German ‘Fingergate’ gets curiouser and curiouser”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 18 Jan 2022
    1 more example

    "Curiouser and curiouser!" cried Alice (she was so much surprised, that for the moment she quite forgot how to speak good English); "now I'm opening out like the largest telescope that ever was! Good-bye, feet!"

    1865 November (indicated as 1866), Lewis Carroll [pseudonym; Charles Lutwidge Dodgson], “The Pool of Tears”, in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, London: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, page 15

Origin

From Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) by the English author Lewis Carroll (1832–1898): see the quotation.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish kummallisempaa ja kummallisempaa
  • kummallisempaa ja kummallisempaaused to describe or react to an increasingly mysterious or peculiar situation
French de plus en plus curieux
  • de plus en plus curieuxused to describe or react to an increasingly mysterious or peculiar situation
Hungarian egyre furcsábbak a dolgok
  • egyre furcsábbak a dolgokused to describe or react to an increasingly mysterious or peculiar situation
Russian всё стра́ньше и стра́ньше
  • всё стра́ньше и стра́ньше (vsjo stránʹše i stránʹše)used to describe or react to an increasingly mysterious or peculiar situation
Cite this entry
APA

curiouser and curiouser. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/curiouser%20and%20curiouser

MLA

“curiouser and curiouser.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/curiouser%20and%20curiouser. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “curiouser and curiouser,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/curiouser%20and%20curiouser.

Source: curiouser and curiouser on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.