hurly-burly

[ hur-lee-bur-lee, -bur- ]
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noun,plural hurl·y-burl·ies.
  1. noisy disorder and confusion; commotion; uproar; tumult.

adjective
  1. full of commotion; tumultuous.

Origin of hurly-burly

1
1520–30; alteration of hurling (and) burling, rhyming phrase based on hurling in its (now obsolete) sense of tumult, uproar

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How to use hurly-burly in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for hurly-burly

hurly-burly

/ (ˈhɜːlɪˈbɜːlɪ) /


nounplural hurly-burlies
  1. confusion or commotion

adjective
  1. turbulent

Origin of hurly-burly

1
C16: from earlier hurling and burling, rhyming phrase based on hurling in obsolete sense of uproar

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