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pell-mell

/ˌpɛl ˌˈmɛl/
IPA guide

When things are messy, wacky, crazy, and all over the place, they are pell-mell — chaotic.

If your room is a mess, with clothes everywhere, it's pell-mell. If people are running in every direction and yelling, that's a pell-mell situation. Whenever things are out of hand, off the hook, and chaotic, it's pell-mell. Words with a similar structure and meaning are "higgledy-piggledy," "harum-scarum," and "helter-skelter."

Definitions of pell-mell
  1. adverb
    in a wild or reckless manner
    “running pell-mell up the stairs”
    synonyms: harum-scarum
  2. adjective
    with undue hurry and confusion
    “a pell-mell dash for the train”
    synonyms: helter-skelter
    hurried
    moving rapidly or performed quickly or in great haste
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