was wotd|2006|November|9
English
Alternative spellings
higgledypiggledy
Pronunciation
IPA|�hɪg�ldi�pɪg�ldi/
audio|en-us-higgledy-piggledy.ogg|Audio (US)
Adjective
en-adj
- In utter disorder or confusion; mixed up.
#: I can't find your memo since my desk is all higgledy-piggledy.
Quotations
1911 � w:H. G. Wells|H. G. Wells, s:The Country of the Blind|The Country of the Blind
:The houses of the central village were quite unlike the casual and higgledy-piggledy agglomeration of the mountain villages he knew.
1937 � w:Franklin D. Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt, s:Roosevelt's Fireside Chat, 12 October 1937|Fireside Chat, 12 October
:For many years we have all known that the executive and administrative departments of the Government in Washington are a higgledy-piggledy patchwork of duplicate responsibilities and overlapping powers.
1930 � w:Bertrand Russell|Bertrand Russell, s:The Conquest of Happiness|The Conquest of Happiness
:The world is a higgledy-piggledy place, with things pleasant and unpleasant occurring in no particular sequence.
Synonyms
italbrac|in disorder: disordered, disorderly, hugger-mugger, jumbled, topsy-turvy
Translations
trans-top|in disorder
French: pêle-mêle, en désordre
trans-mid
trans-bottom
Adverb
en-adv
- In a confused, disordered, or random way.
Quotations
1881 � w:James Greenwood|James Greenwood, s:Low-Life Deeps|Low-Life Deeps, ch 11
:There is no kind of arrangement as regards the buildings they are erected "higgledy-piggledy;" backs to fronts, anyhow, with narrow passages between.
Synonyms
italbrac|in a disordered way: willy-nilly
Translations
trans-top|in a disordered way
French: pêle-mêle, en désordre
trans-mid
trans-bottom
io:higgledy-piggledy
pl:higgledy-piggledy
fi:higgledy-piggledy
te:higgledy-piggledy
vi:higgledy-piggledy
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