🥃 A strong drink 🃏 A card game 🤔 Strange or odd

rum

9.9

Strange or odd in a way that surprises people

adjective
/rʌm/

Archaic

: extraño

It was a rum situation, with unexpected guests arriving while the party was still being set up.

Examples

His reasoning was quite rum when he explained why he believed the world was flat.
The cat's behavior seemed rum as it stared at the wall for hours.
It has all the weight of, of the high table at Cambridge, you know, a great idea, wrong species, very rum expression.

Synonyms

odd

vsrum

798 1.0

Different from what is normal or expected

is an older chiefly British word for that same meaning

funny

vsrum

740 2.0

Causing a strange feeling in your body

is the archaic chiefly British sense without the modern informal tone

curious

vsrum

131 4.0

Strange or unusual in a way that attracts attention

is the older chiefly British word with the same general sense

peculiar

vsrum

123 4.6

Different from what is normal and expected

is the archaic chiefly British form with the same basic sense

singular

vsrum

20 7.0

Very unusual in a noticeable way

is the older chiefly British term meaning simply strange or odd

queer

vsrum

Offensive

18 9.1

Strange or unusual in a way you notice

is the older chiefly British term without the modern offence connotation

rummy

vsrum

Archaic

1 9.1

Strange in a way that makes you notice it

is the older chiefly British term without focus on attention

Antonyms

normal

∞ 1.0

Usual or expected in most situations

usual

∞ 1.0

Happening most of the time in a normal way

ordinary

683 1.0

Normal and not special or unusual

Compounds

bay rum

1 7.5

A scented liquid used as an aftershave or cologne with a warm spicy smell

bay-rum tree

9.9

A tropical Caribbean tree whose leaves make a fragrant oil used for aftershave

Demerara rum

7.9

A dark alcoholic drink from Guyana made from Demerara sugar with a rich taste

Jamaica rum

4.1

A strong drink from Jamaica with a rich, fruity taste and smell

rum baba

8.0

A small rich cake made with yeast and soaked in rum syrup

rum cherry

8.9

A large North American cherry tree with dark sour fruit and strong wood

rum cherry

4.7

A cherry kept in rum and sugar to flavor drinks and cakes

rum cocktail

3.4

A drink made with rum mixed with lime and other sweet or sour ingredients

rum mill

Archaic

9.0

A place or group where people spread gossip quickly

rum nose

Archaic

9.9

A red, swollen nose with small red veins, often linked to heavy drinking

rum sling

7.5

A mixed drink of rum, sugar, water, often with lemon juice

rum-blossom

Archaic

9.9

A red, swollen nose with small veins you can see after long heavy drinking

How Strange

bizarre

406 5.9

weird

Informal

∞ 3.2

strange

∞ 2.3

rum

Archaic

9.9

odd

798 1.0

Surface Forms

rum positive

Etymology

Rum meaning 'strange' comes from old British slang where rum meant 'odd' or 'unusual'. A helpful way to remember it is to think of something 'rum' as a bit like the strong drink rum—different or hard to explain.