51Թ

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View synonyms for

helter-skelter

[ hel-ter-skel-ter ]

adverb

  1. in headlong and disorderly haste:

    The children ran helter-skelter all over the house.

  2. in a haphazard manner; without regard for order:

    Clothes were scattered helter-skelter about the room.



adjective

  1. carelessly hurried; confused:

    They ran in a mad, helter-skelter fashion for the exits.

  2. Books and papers were scattered on the desk in a helter-skelter manner.

noun

  1. tumultuous disorder; confusion.

helter-skelter

/ ˈɛəˈɛə /

adjective

  1. haphazard or carelessly hurried
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adverb

  1. in a helter-skelter manner
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a high spiral slide, as at a fairground
  2. disorder or haste
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of helter-skelter1

First recorded in 1585–95; rhyming compound, perhaps based on unattested skelt, Middle English skelten “to hasten”; further origin unknown); reduplication with initial h parallel to hubble-bubble, higgledy-piggledy, etc.
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of helter-skelter1

C16: probably of imitative origin
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

This was a helter-skelter day, the breathless cricket picking up from the previous time these sides met on this ground - New Zealand's classic one-run victory at the beginning of last year.

From

How destructive his term will be remains unknowable, but his helter-skelter, vengeance-fueled approach to wielding power may have the ironic effect of impeding his ability to deliver on his more radical promises.

From

The conditions made for a helter-skelter session with drivers clearly struggling for grip on a track where F1 has not held a race for five years.

From

In the contemporary, helter-skelter sweep of Mexico City, there is one place — in the southern borough of Xochimilco — where a vision of a watery, pre-Columbian capital may still be imagined.

From

A breathless, helter-skelter second half saw Sarkic make a super diving save from Cannon to keep the Lions in the tie, before Watmore capitalised with a richly deserved goal.

From

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