crotchet
noun
crotch·et ˈkrä-chət 
1
obsolete
a
: a small hook or hooked instrument
b
: brooch
2
a
: a highly individual and usually eccentric opinion or preference
b
: a peculiar trick or device
3
: quarter note
Synonyms
- curiosity
- eccentricity
- erraticism
- idiosyncrasy
- individualism
- kink
- mannerism
- oddity
- peculiarity
- quiddity
- quip
- quirk
- singularity
- tic
- trick
- twist
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
her one crotchet is a fondness for eating cookies while soaking in the tub
Recent Examples on the Web It’s also even in more mundane ways, in cross-stitch, in crotchet and quilting, creating beauty literally from the scraps on the margins. 
Robin Rose Parker, Washington Post, 12 July 2022 The origins of brackets — once referred to as crotchets, crooks, or hooks — are a mystery. Sarah Fay, Longreads, 17 Mar. 2020 Among his other crotchets was an aversion to bare canvas. Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 7 May 2018 Maxine attended to his every whim and crotchet, never lost faith in his brilliance or potential, and delighted in surrounding him with exactly the sort of frivolous company his wife abhorred. Sadie Stein, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2017
Robin Rose Parker, Washington Post, 12 July 2022 The origins of brackets — once referred to as crotchets, crooks, or hooks — are a mystery. Sarah Fay, Longreads, 17 Mar. 2020 Among his other crotchets was an aversion to bare canvas. Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 7 May 2018 Maxine attended to his every whim and crotchet, never lost faith in his brilliance or potential, and delighted in surrounding him with exactly the sort of frivolous company his wife abhorred. Sadie Stein, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2017 Word History
Etymology
Middle English crochet, from Anglo-French crochet, croket — more at crocket
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
crotchets
noun
as in tricks
an odd or peculiar habit her one crotchet is a fondness for eating cookies while soaking in the tub Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- tricks
- eccentricities
- traits
- tics
- quiddities
- habits
- quirks
- characteristics
- mannerisms
- peculiarities
- idiosyncrasies
- twists
- singularities
- curiosities
- oddities
- affectations
- quips
- tendencies
- patterns
- kinks
- characters
- attributes
- individualisms
- attitudes
- airs
- erraticisms
- personalities
- penchants
- perversions
- partialities
- inclinations
- customs
- practices
- temperaments
- leanings
- properties
- predilections
- bents
- proclivities
- abnormalities
- predispositions
- dispositions
- identities
- individualities
- propensities
- wonts
- addictions
- humors
- practises
- ways
- neuroticisms
- natures
- genii
- marks
- geniuses
- turns
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- conformities