Definition: Originally, a small hook or hooked instrument but that sense is now archaic. Today, it means a highly individual and eccentric opinion or preference.
[@more@]Usage: We often (mis)use the adjective, "crotchety," but what about the noun it derives from? Crotchety does not mean "irritable," it means having many eccentric opinions. If we used the noun more often, we would have a better sense of that.
Suggested Usage: We all know people this word describes. (Don't you have a crotchet or two?): "Guacamole on ice cream is just one of his gastronomic crotchets; there are many more." Some political causes approach crotchets, "Her fight to protect the rights of ants is the weirdest political crotchet I have ever heard of." Take pride in your crotchets and help save the word that denotes them!
Etymology: This word is merely the English pronunciation of French crochet "hook," diminutive of croche "crook, hook" with spelling changed to match (The French pronunciation gives us [kro-'shey], spelled "crochet" in English, referring to the variant of knitting.) The French may have borrowed the stem from the Germanic ancestor of English "crook," Swedish "krok" and Danish "krog".
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