shambles

/ ˈʃæmbəlz /

noun

1. a place of great disorder

   the room was a shambles after the party

2. a place where animals are brought to be slaughtered

3. any place of slaughter or carnage

4. dialect,  a row of covered stalls or shops where goods, originally meat, are sold

Word History and Origins

Origin of shambles¹

C14 shamble table used by meat vendors, from Old English sceamel stool, from Late Latin scamellum a small bench, from Latin scamnum stool

Example Sentences

My executive function, the set of mental processes that help order the day-to-day — like organization, working memory, time management and focus — was in shambles.

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With his bullpen in shambles, why does he pull his starter so early?

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Asked if the Downing Street operation was "a shambles", a No 10 spokesman replied: "The PM's focus is on delivering practical change to make a difference to people's lives."

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England captain Harry Brook described the rain-reduced T20 between England and South Africa in Cardiff as a "shambles of a night".

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So Carville, despite his diagnosis of “shambles,” thinks things are looking up in the long run.

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Related Words

• disarray