helter skelter

Noun

helter-skelter (countable and uncountable, plural helter-skelters)

1. Confusion or turmoil.
   • ‘I hardly know, — I imagine that it was with some dim idea of Marjorie’s being able to get in if she returned while I was absent, — but the truth is I was in such a condition of helter skelter that I am not prepared to swear that I had any reasonable reason.’1897, Richard Marsh, The Beetle
2. (UK) An amusement ride consisting of a slide that spirals down around the exterior of a tapering central tower, most commonly modeled after lighthouses.
   • He is finishing, this week, a remarkable thing called a helter skelter: This is a circular building 50 feet high which people climb, by means of an interior winding stair. At the top they each take a seat in a semicircular wooden trough which curls around the outside of the house, gradually leading...1905 September 30, The Independent, Footscray, Vic, page 2, column 4

   Synonyms:

   helter-skelter lighthouse

See all 4 meanings of helter-skelter