askew

Etymology

From Old Norse á ská (“askew, askance”), equivalent to a- + skew. Compare Icelandic á ská (“diagonally”), Danish skrå (“slanting, oblique”), German Schräge (“slope, slant”).

adj

1. Turned or twisted to one side.
   Here Shenandoah brawls along, there burly Blue Ridge echoes strong, to swell the Brigade's rousing song, of "Stonewall Jackson’s Way." We see him now — the old slouched hat cocked o'er his eye askew, the shrewd, dry smile, the speech so pat, so calm, so blunt, so true. 1862, John Williamson Palmer, Stonewall Jackson's Way
2. (figurative) Untoward, unfavourable.

adv

1. Tilted to one side.
   He wore his hat askew