To “caterwaul” (KAT-ur-wawl) – from the Middle English for “cry like a cat” – is to make a shrill, discordant sound or have a noisy argument.
Example (as used by Paul Hoggart in The [London] Times): “In the early days, when people were still shocked by the novelty of cursing, screaming, caterwauling emotional incontinents attacking each other on stage, [Jerry Springer] used to produce high-falutin’ justifications for the show.”
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