helter-skelter
adjective
[ ˌhɛltəˈskɛltə ]
• involving disorderly haste or confusion.
• "she had blamed her grogginess on a helter-skelter lifestyle"
Similar:
headlong,
pell-mell,
hotfoot,
post-haste,
hastily,
in a hurry,
hurriedly,
as fast as possible,
as quickly as possible,
at full speed,
at full pelt,
at full tilt,
hell for leather,
recklessly,
precipitately,
impetuously,
impulsively,
carelessly,
heedlessly,
wildly,
like a bat out of hell,
at a lick,
like the wind,
like greased lightning,
like a bomb,
like mad,
like crazy,
like blazes,
like the clappers,
at a rate of knots,
like billy-o,
lickety-split,
apace,
hurry-scurry,
Opposite:
at moderate speed,
helter-skelter
adverb
• in disorderly haste or confusion.
• "they were hurtling helter-skelter down the pavement"
helter-skelter
noun
• a fairground amusement consisting of a tall spiral slide winding around a tower.
• disorder; confusion.
• "the helter-skelter of a school day"
Origin:
late 16th century (as an adverb): a rhyming jingle of unknown origin, perhaps symbolic of running feet or from Middle English skelte ‘hasten’.
