helter-skelter

/ˌˈhɛltər ˌˈskɛltər/

Helter-skelter things are disorganized, hasty, and appear completely random. Your helter-skelter housekeeping style will definitely not impress your tidy grandmother when she comes to visit.

You can use helter-skelter as an adjective, to describe something disorderly, or an adverb for things that are done haphazardly: "The little car, packed full of clowns, took off helter-skelter down the street." This word has been around since the 16th century, from the Middle English skelte, "to scatter hurriedly." The Beatles made it famous when they named a song "Helter Skelter" on the 1968 record popularly called The White Album.

Definitions of helter-skelter

1. adjective

   with undue hurry and confusion
   “a helter-skelter kind of existence with never a pause”

   synonyms: pell-mell

   hurried

   moving rapidly or performed quickly or in great haste
2. adjective

   lacking a visible order or organization
   synonyms: chaotic

   disorganised, disorganized

   lacking order or methodical arrangement or function
3. adverb

   haphazardly
   “the books were piled up helter-skelter”

   synonyms: every which way