pell-mell
adverb /ˌpel ˈmel/
/ˌpel ˈmel/
(old-fashioned)- very quickly and in a way that is not controlled
- The children rushed pell-mell down the stairs.
Word Originlate 16th cent.: from French pêle-mêle, from earlier pesle mesle, mesle pesle, reduplication from mesler ‘to mix’.