Dear Geist,

Is cater-cornered a real word, meaning diagonally? I grew up with it, but I don’t find it in my dictionary, though kitty-corner and catty-corner both get the nod.

—Dana Webster, Chicago IL

Dear Dana,

It is most certainly in the dictionary! But not all dictionaries. If you have a compact dictionary, you will have to look in a bigger one for cater-cornered. Perhaps one of your colleagues has a heftier one. If not, and if your library is still closed against COVID-19, phone them up and ask for help. Librarians are magic. If they can possibly help you, they will.

—The Editors