helter-skelter
UK /ˌhɛltəˈskɛltə/ · US /ˌhɛltɚˈskɛltɚ/ adverb, adjective, noun
Forms helter-skelters
- adverb In confused, disorderly haste. “The winds knocked huge trees helter-skelter all over my garden.”
- adjective Carelessly hurried and confused.
- noun Confusion or turmoil.
- noun (chiefly UK) An amusement ride consisting of a slide that spirals down around the exterior of a tapering central tower, most commonly modeled after lighthouses.
Synonyms
Etymology
In form a reduplication (similar to hurry-scurry and harum-scarum, both with initial /h-/ and /sk-/); perhaps based on Middle English skelten ("to hasten; to raise an alarm"), or maybe related to Old High German skeltan (“scold”) from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kel- (“make noise, yell”), employed as a fossil word.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [An onomatholter-polter, D. holder de bolder.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “helter-skelter”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details