tərˈskɛl 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
3.
carelessly hurried; confused: They ran in a mad, helter-skelter fashion for the exits.
4.
disorderly; haphazard: Books and papers were scattered on the desk in a helter-skelter manner.
noun
5.
tumultuous disorder; confusion.
Origin:
1585–95; rhyming compound, perhaps based on *skelt, Middle English skelten to hasten (< ?); reduplication with initial h parallel to hubble-bubble, higgledy-piggledy, etc.
1585–95; rhyming compound, perhaps based on *skelt, Middle English skelten to hasten (< ?); reduplication with initial h parallel to hubble-bubble, higgledy-piggledy, etc.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To Helter-Skelter
00:10
Helter-skelter
is always a great word to know.
So is gobo. Does it mean:
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
helter-skelter (ˈhɛltəˈskɛltə) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | haphazard or carelessly hurried |
| —adv | |
| 2. | in a helter-skelter manner |
| —n | |
| 3. | (Brit) a high spiral slide, as at a fairground |
| 4. | disorder or haste |
| [C16: probably of imitative origin] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
helter-skelter
1593, perhaps from skelte "to hasten, scatter hurriedly," with the first element merely for rhyme.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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