shamblessham‧bles /ˈʃæmbəlz/ noun 
Word Origin
The meeting was a shambles from start to finish. The economy is in a complete shambles. b)if a place is a shambles, it is very untidy SYN mess: My house is in an absolute shambles.
Word OriginWORD ORIGINshambles
ExamplesOrigin:
1900-2000 shambles ‘place where animals are killed for meat, scene of great killing or destruction’ (16-20 centuries), from shamble ‘table from which meat is sold, meat market’ (14-19 centuries), from Old English scamul ‘counter, stool’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- This kitchen is a shambles!
- But the room, the target of a 1968 arson, was in a shambles.
- He liked the fact that he had fought back from the break-up with Yamaguchi, revived a career in shambles.
- It is all out of order because the preliminaries are a shambles.
- Much around Lilly is in shambles.
- Now it is merely a shambles.
- The scrums, in particular, were a shambles, with Haslemere being driven off their own ball.
THESAURUS► failure
Phrases noun [countable] someone or something that is not successful: · The book was a complete failure.· I felt a complete failure.
► flop noun [countable] informal something that is not successful because people do not like it – used especially about a film, play, product, or performance: · Despite the hype, the movie was a flop at the box office.· Their next computer was a flop.
► disaster noun [countable] used when saying that something is extremely unsuccessful: · Our first date was a disaster.· Their marriage was a total disaster.
► fiasco noun [countable usually singular] something that is completely unsuccessful and goes very badly wrong – used especially about things that have been officially planned, which go very wrong: · The baggage system broke down on the first day the airport was open. It was a complete fiasco.· The fiasco came close to ending de Gaulle's political career.
► debacle noun [countable usually singular] formal an event or situation that is a complete failure, because it does not happen in the way that it was officially planned: · the banking debacle that has put our economy at risk
► shambles noun [singular] especially British English if a situation or event is a shambles, it is completely unsuccessful because it has been very badly planned or organized, and no one seems to know what to do: · The first few shows were a shambles, but things soon got better.
► washout noun [singular] informal a failure – used when something is so bad that it would be better if it had not happened: · The play wasn’t a complete washout; the acting was okay.· His most recent and ambitious project, a big-budget Hollywood film, was a washout with both critics and audiences alike.
► turkey noun [countable] informal something that is so bad and unsuccessful that you think the people involved should be embarrassed about it – a very informal use: · At the time most people thought the car was a complete turkey.· Since then he has appeared in a string of turkeys.
Longman Language Activatorwhen an event or product is unsuccessful► be a failure · The latest model seems likely to be a failure since cheaper versions are now available.be a complete/total failure · It takes a little while for an author to realize that his book has been a complete failure. be a commercial failure (=to not make enough profit) · Her first film was praised by the critics, but was a commercial failure.
► be a fiasco to be completely unsuccessful, in a way that makes people feel disappointed and embarrassed: · It was a fiasco! Nobody knew what they were doing and everything went wrong.· The show turned into a fiasco when members of the audience invaded the stage.be a complete/total fiasco: · Lamont's attempts to prop up the pound were a complete fiasco.
► be a disaster if an event, especially a social event, is a disaster , it makes people feel angry, disappointed, or embarrassed, instead of being enjoyable: · Our first date was a disaster.· The whole visit was something of a disaster, and he was still recovering from it months later.be a total/complete disaster: · Even the host would have to admit that the evening had been a complete disaster.
► be a shambles if a situation or event is a shambles , it is completely unsuccessful because it has been very badly planned or organized: · The whole conference was a shambles because half the speakers did not come.· The way this school is run is a shambles.be a complete/total shambles: · Let's hope this year's celebrations aren't a complete shambles like last year's.
► flop/be a flop if a product, play, or performance flops or is a flop , it is not successful because people do not like it: · The movie flopped and Laughton never got the chance to direct again.· It was just another so-called "wonder product' that flopped when people failed to buy it.· Despite all the publicity, the show was a flop.· It is the public who decide whether a film will be a hit or a flop.
► bomb informal if a product, play, or performance bombs , it is not successful because people do not like it: · Although the show was a hit in London it bombed on Broadway.· She has had few offers of work since her last movie bombed so spectacularly.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► be (in) a shambles
be (in) a shambles informal a)if something is a shambles, it is very disorganized and there is a lot of confusion: - But the room, the target of a 1968 arson, was in a shambles.
- By October 1952, when we left Pusan, the corrupt Rhee government was in shambles.
- Instead, his side were a shambles again, a disgrace.
- It is all out of order because the preliminaries are a shambles.
- It was a shambles last year.
- Much around Lilly is in shambles.
- The apartment was in shambles and the kids in a frenzy.
- The scrums, in particular, were a shambles, with Haslemere being driven off their own ball.
The meeting was a shambles from start to finish. The economy is in a complete shambles. b)if a place is a shambles, it is very untidy SYN mess: My house is in an absolute shambles.