helter-skelter
[ hel-ter-skel-ter ]
/ ˈhɛl tərˈskɛl tər /
adverb
in headlong and disorderly haste: The children ran helter-skelter all over the house.
in a haphazard manner; without regard for order: Clothes were scattered helter-skelter about the room.
adjective
carelessly hurried; confused: They ran in a mad, helter-skelter fashion for the exits.
disorderly; haphazard: Books and papers were scattered on the desk in a helter-skelter manner.
noun
tumultuous disorder; confusion.
Origin of helter-skelter
1585–95; rhyming compound, perhaps based on
*skelt, Middle English
skelten to hasten (< ?); reduplication with initial
h parallel to
hubble-bubble,
higgledy-piggledy, etc.
Words nearby helter-skelter
helprin,
helsingborg,
helsingør,
helsinki,
helsinki conference,
helter-skelter,
helve,
helvellyn,
helvetia,
helvetian,
helvetic
Example sentences from the Web for helter-skelter
British Dictionary definitions for helter-skelter
helter-skelter
/ (ˈhɛltəˈskɛltə) /
adjective
haphazard or carelessly hurried
adverb
in a helter-skelter manner
noun
British
a high spiral slide, as at a fairground
disorder or haste
Word Origin for helter-skelter
C16: probably of imitative origin