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shamble

[ sham-buhl ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

shambles, (used with a singular or plural verb)
1. a slaughterhouse.
2. any place of carnage.
3. any scene of destruction:
  to turn cities into shambles.
4. any scene, place, or thing in disorder:
  Her desk is a shambles.
British Dialect. a butcher's shop or stall.

shamble

[ sham-buhl ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

verb (used without object)

shambled, shambling.

to walk or go awkwardly; shuffle.

noun

a shambling gait.

shamble

/ ˈʃæ��ə�� /

verb

intr to walk or move along in an awkward or unsteady way

noun

an awkward or unsteady walk

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Derived Forms

ˈ��󲹳��Բ�, adjectivenoun

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Word History and Origins

Origin of shamble¹

before 900; Middle English shamel, Old English sc ( e ) amel stool, table < Late Latin scamellum, Latin scamillum, diminutive of Latin scamnum bench; compare German Schemel

Origin of shamble²

1675–85; perhaps short for shamble-legs one that walks wide (i.e., as if straddling), reminiscent of the legs of a shamble ¹ (in earlier sense “butcher's table”)

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Word History and Origins

Origin of shamble¹

C17: from shamble (adj) ungainly, perhaps from the phrase shamble legs legs resembling those of a meat vendor's table; see shambles

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

"Among the first items in Shah's in-tray ought to be the World Test Championship, a shambles masquerading as a showpiece," Booth said.

From

“The system is a shambles,” said Gevorg Adjian, the founder of All Seniors Foundation, a nonprofit organization in Los Angeles that offers free medical care, supplies, and healthcare services for seniors.

From

No laughing matter at the time, Coleman has since raised a smile at the events of Skopje that started with shambles but eventually led to a sense of where Wales were going under his charge.

From

"I've gotten so many calls from people just completely in shambles after watching the last episode and how meaningful it was to them to watch," Mo says.

From

Since the turn of the year it has been a shambles: the women thrashed all over Australia, the men one win from 10 in McCullum's new white-ball era.

From

shamba shambles

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