Soon children will be ringing our doorbell and shouting, “Trick or treat.” They arrive dressed up in various costumes, some whimsical in nature. Whimsical outfits imply playful and mostly impractical. Our son wanted to go out for Halloween one year in a tractor costume. So, Patti made use of a box painted blue like the Ford tractor Joel’s grandpa used on the farm. The box fitted over his head, and he was the farmer driving the tractor. It looked very good. But it was hard to hold a bag for candy as his arms stuck way out to the sides. Playful, but impractical for receiving lots of candy.
Whimsical costumes trend away from the scary and “death and mayhem’ themes. Whimsical outfits are usually humorous and eccentric.
Whimsical means full of or characterised by whims, which are odd ideas that usually occur to you very suddenly. Whimsical Halloween outfits pose a challenge to the parents, finding or making something that usually requires a lot of thoughtful preparation.
The origin of whimsical lies in the obscure noun, whim-wham. In the 16th century this referred to an ornamental object or trinket. Eventually it came to describe any eccentric impulse or interest, what we call today, a whim. Whim-wham is in a class of words known as reduplications, that is, words formed by repeating a word or a word that sounds similar. Examples are dilly-dally, ping-pong, knick-knack, zig-zag, flip-flop, okey-dokey, itsy-bitsy, teenie-weenie, super-duper, etc.
Whimsical first described those who tend towards whimsy, that is, fanciful or fantastic. Today whimsical describes things that are unusual in a playful or amusing way. The children were charmed by the book’s whimsical illustrations. When they suggested we join them at the last minute on their trip to Mexico, it struck me as a whimsical idea.
At Hillcrest Golf Course there is an updated master plan for future changes. A solid master plan helps prevent whimsical changes being made by whatever committee is in charge at the time.
Synonyms for whimsical include impulsive, capricious, freakish, and quirky.
Impulsive means arising from a sudden spontaneous inclination or incitement to some usually unpremeditated action. She is often impulsive and does things that she later regrets.
Capricious suggests actions governed or characterised by sudden usually unpredictable conditions, change, or series of changes. He is capricious and is said to take bribes and wantonly peddle his influence from time to time.
Freakish implies markedly strange or abnormal. He ran into his long-lost friend at the concert due to a freakish twist of fate.
Quirky means having many abrupt twists or curves. It is unusual in an especially interesting or appealing way. She has a quirky sense of humour.
Claire Hoppe recently wrote in Better Homes & Gardens (October 2024), “This Halloween, expect to see traditional and whimsical takes on home aesthetics, ghoulish twists on classic party foods, and costumes with nods to your favorite fall movies and TV shows.”
It seems that more and more homes are purchasing elaborate yard decorations for Halloween. Take a walk around your neighbourhood and you’ll find many front lawns filled with things of the season. Some put up traditional spooky items and characters while others display humourous, eccentric, and even whimsical items.
