Higgledy-piggledy

Definition: Higgledy-piggledy

Higgledy-piggledy

Adjective

1. In utter disorder; "a disorderly pile of clothes".

Adverb

1. In a disordered manner; "they were piled up higgledy-piggledy".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "higgledy-piggledy" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1906. (references)

Note: Higgledy-piggledy \Hig`gle*dy-pig"gle*dy\, adverb. In confusion; topsy-turvy. [Colloq.]. (references)

Literature

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Synonyms: Higgledy-piggledy

Disorder

Adverb: irregularly; Adjective: by fits, by fits and snatches, by fits and starts; pellmell; higgledy-piggledy; helter-skelter, harum-scarum; in a ferment; at sixes and sevens, at cross-purposes; upside down.

Books

• Higgledy-Piggledy Verses and Pictures (reference)

  (more book examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Albanian

rrëmujë (alarm, bustle, clutter, disarray, disorder, disturbance, dust, farrago, hash, helter-skelter, huddle, hugger mugger, jumble, litter, mess, mix up, moil, muss, pandemonium, pell mell, pie, pother, roistering, snafu, tangle, topsy turvy, topsy-turvydom, tumble, upheaval, upset, welter), në rrëmujë (helter-skelter, littery), lesh e li. (various references)

Arabic 

‏مشوش (become confused, chaotic, confused, deranged, disarranged, disarrayed, disordered, disorganized, disturbed, disturber, hugger mugger, jumbled up, messy, mixed, muddled, muddy, promiscuous, unsettled), ‏بفوضى, ‏بأي طريقة. (various references)

Bulgarian 

разхвърлян (desultory, incoherent, messy, pell mell, piggish, scattered, unkempt, untidy), разбъркан (deranged, farraginous, hugger mugger, jumbled, mixing up, out of order, pell mell, perturbed, promiscuous, tumultuary, turbid, untidy), в пълен безпорядък (topsy turvy, upside down), безразборно (at large, hit or miss, pell mell, sweepingly), безпорядък (disarray, disorder, disorganization, helter-skelter, litter, misrule, moil, muck, muddle). (various references)

Czech

rozházený (scattered), přeházený, páté přes deváté (pell mell). (various references)

French

pêle-mêle, n'importe comment (hit or miss). (various references)

German

drunter und drüber. (various references)

Greek 

φύρδην μίγδην (helter skelter, helter-skelter, pell mell), άνω κάτω (topsy turvy, upset, upside down). (various references)

Hebrew 

ערבובי�" (clutter, confusion, disorder, helter-skelter, hodgpodge, hotchpotch, jumble, medley, mess, mingle-mangle, mishmash, muddle, muss, pastiche, tumble, welter). (various references)

Hungarian

rendetlenül (hugger-mugger, tumultuously), összevissza (helter-skelter, hugger-mugger, hurry-skurry, indiscriminate, pell mell, pell-mell, promiscuous, rambler, slap dash, slap-dash, straggly, to scour about, to straggle, topsy-turvy). (various references)

Italian

disordinato (disorderly, hugger mugger, irregular, messy, muddled, pell mell, slovenly, unsettled, untidy, wild), disordinatamente (pell mell), confuso (abashed, addled, confounded, confused, dazed, fuzzy, haywire, hazy, hugger mugger, indistinct, messy, pell mell, perplexed, promiscuous, shamefaced, upset, woolly, wooly), alla rinfusa (in confusion, pell mell). (various references)

Manx

hurley-burley. (various references)

Pig Latin

iggledy-piggledyhay.(various references)

Portuguese

turbulento (bacchic, disorderly, fractious, inordinate, knockabout, noisy, obstreperous, rackety, rampageous, randy, riotous, rowdy, rumbustious, stormy, tempestuous, termagant, turbulent, unquiet), desregrado (disorderly, lawless, lecherous, licentious, obstreperous), desordenado (deranged, disorderly, hugger-mugger, immoderate, indigested, inordinate, lawless, pell-mell, rough and tumble, tumultuous, turbulent, untidy). (various references)

Romanian

vraişte, talmeş-balmeş (confusion, farrago, fustian, glory-hole, helter-skelter, hodge-podge, hotchpotch, hurry-scurry, jumble, mix up, muddle, olio, topsy turvy, upside down, welter), buluc (heap, troop), alandala (awry, helter-skelter, promiscuous, wrong). (various references)

Russian 

как придется, беспорядочный (chaotic, disorderly, erratic, haywire, hugger mugger, indiscriminate, inordinate, messy, pell mell, rambling, random, rough and tumble, shambolic, topsy turvy, tumultuary, tumultuous, undigested, unregulated, upside down), полный беспорядок (hurrah's nest). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

razvašaren (littery), krš i lom, dar-mar (hubble bubble, hurry-scurry, mingle-mangle, pell mell). (various references)

Spanish

revuelto (churned, fumbling, scrambled, troubled, turned, unruly), en desorden (haywire, pell mell, pellmell, topsyturvy, tousled, untidy), de cualquier modo (anyhow, anyway, anywise, haphazard, in any event), a trochemoche (haphazardly, helter-skelter, pell mell, pellmell), a la buena de dios (haphazard). (various references)

Swedish

huller om buller (helter-skelter, pell mell, pell-mell, topsy turvy, upside down), rörig (confused, indiscriminate, jumbly, messy, muddled, topsy turvy, turbid), röra (admixture, affect, be pertinent to, concern, farrago, gallimaufry, hash, hodgepodge, hotchpotch, huggermugger, jumble, mess, mixture, move, muck-up, muss, patchwork, pie, promiscuity, shambles, stir, touch, tumble, turmoil, welter, wilderness). (various references)

Thai

ยุ่งเหยิง (foul, jumble, muddy, ravel, ruffled, sloppy, tangle). (various references)

Turkish

karman çorman (all mixed up, chaotic, confused, crabbed, crabby, messy, mussy, pell mell, pellmell, ragged, topsyturvy), karmakarışık (all in a tumble, all mixed up, at sixes and sevens, chaotic, confused, disheveled, dishevelled, embroiled, haywire, helter-skelter, hurly burly, in complete disorder, intricate, mess, messy, mussy, out of order, pell mell, pellmell, promiscuous, snafu), karmaşa (blight, complexity, complication, hubbub, involution, moil, rag bag), karışıklık (bedlam, bungle, cataclysm, chaos, clamor, clamour, clutter, commotion, complexity, complication, confusion, disarrangement, disorder, disorderliness, disorganization, disturbance, dogs dinner, embroilment, ferment, fermentation, fray, frenzy, fuss, fuss and kerfufle, grab bag, havoc, helter-skelter, huddle, hugger mugger, huggermugger, hurly burly, imbroglio, indiscrimination, intricacy, involution, jungle, kerfufle, maziness, mess, mishmash, misrule, mix, mix up, muddle, muss, perturbation, pie, pother, pretty kettle of fish, promiscuity, Ravel, riot, rough and tumble, ruckus, ruction, snafu, snarl, snarl up, stir, swirl, tangle, topsyturvy, topsyturvydom, tumble, turbidity, turbulence, unrest, upheaval, upset, wooliness, woolliness). (various references)

Ukrainian

сумбурний (puzzle-headed), сяк-так (hugger mugger, slapdash), безладно (confusedly, disorderly, helter-skelter, hugger mugger, pell mell, pellmell, promiscuously), безладний (amorphous, disorderly, dropping, excursive, harum scarum, helter-skelter, hugger mugger, hurly burly, ill disposed, indiscriminate, inordinate, meandering, messy, orderless, outward, pell mell, pellmell, promiscuous, rambling, scrappy, shapeless, topsy turvy, tumultuary). (various references)

Vietnamese 

tình trạng lung tung bừa bãi, tình trạng hết sức lộn xộn. (various references)