widdershins
adjective

- in a direction contrary to the sun’s course, considered as unlucky; anti-clockwise

The Oxford English Dictionary

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ORIGIN

Widdershins (sometimes written as withershins, widershins or widderschynnes) means to take a course opposite the apparent motion of the sun, to go anti-clockwise, or to circle an object by always keeping it on the left. The earliest use of the word is from 1513, where it was found in the phrase “widdersyns”, meaning my hair stood on end.

Because the sun played a highly important role in primitive religion, to go against it was considered very bad luck. It was considered unlucky in former times in Britain to travel widdershins around a church as an example. A number of folk myths make reference to this superstition, such as the Childe Rowland fairy tale in which the protagonist and his sister are transported to Elfland (the land of elves) after the sister runs widdershins round a church.

The use of the word also means in a direction opposite to the usual, and in a direction contrary to the apparent course of the sun. It is cognate with the German “widersinnig”, meaning paradoxical or counter-productive.

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CLOCKWISE MOVING SHOPPERS SPEND MORE MONEY!

Notice that most supermarket and department stores are designed to lead shoppers WIDDERSHINS through their store displays. Research indicates that most people, in particular right-handers, tend to turn their heads and move to the right when entering new environments.

Fascinatingly, head turning in pre-natal and newborn babies is a predictor of whether a child will ultimately be left- or right-handed.

Interested readers should check out: Marina Kholod, et al. - “Clockwise and Anti-clockwise Directions of Customer Orientation in a Supermarket: Evidence from RFID Data” and then follow associated references.

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SYNONYMS

anti-clockwise, counterclockwise, WIDDERSHINS

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

“Do you know why IKEA is designed to move customers WIDDERSHINS through its store?”

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Paul Smith