# shambolic
## English
### Etymology

Perhaps from shambles +‎ -o- +‎ -ic +‎ [Term?] (adjective), in which the interconsonantal -o- avoids the /mbl/ consonant cluster. Possibly influenced by symbolic.
Alternatively, and more likely, a blend of shambles +‎ symbolic.

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ʃamˈbɒlɪk/
* (General American) enPR: shăm(')bŏlʹĭk, IPA: /(ˌ)ʃæmˈbɑlɪk/
* (General Australian) IPA: /ʃæmˈbɔlɪk/
* Audio (General Australian):(file)
* Rhymes: -ɒlɪk
* Hyphenation: sham‧bol‧ic

### Adjective

shambolic (comparative more shambolic, superlative most shambolic)
* (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) Chaotic, disorganised or mismanaged. [from 1952]
** 1952 April, The Tank‎, volume 34, number 396, London, page 231:[O]ne must admit there were those among us who were somewhat on the shambolic side.
** 1958 December 5, “'Pavilion Would Help Clubs'”, in West Sussex County Times‎, Horsham, page 6:He said his club had coined a new word 'Shambolic,' which meant spending more time watching the weather than playing.
** 1994, Timothy O'Riordan, James Cameron, “The History and Contemporary Significance of the Precautionary Principle”, in Tim O'Riordan, James Cameron, editors, Interpreting the Precautionary Principle, London: Earthscan, →ISBN, page 12:The precautionary principle is a culturally framed concept that takes its cue from changing social conceptions about the appropriate roles of science, economics, ethics, politics and the law in pro-active environmental protection and management. As this book will reveal, it is a rather shambolic concept, muddled in policy advice and subject to the whims of international diplomacy and the unpredictable public mood over the true cost of sustainable living.
** 2000, China Miéville, Perdido Street Station, London: Macmillan Publishers, →ISBN, page 24:The pub was empty of all but the most dedicated drinkers, shambolic figures huddled over bottles.
** 2013, Philip Murphy, “Winds of Change and the Royal Family”, in Monarchy and the End of Empire: The House of Windsor, the British Government, and the Postwar Commonwealth, Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 66:The shabby subterfuge surrounding Suez [the Suez Crisis], as much as its shambolic aftermath, have made it a symbol of the collapse of British global power in the post-war era.
** 2014 October 22, Graham Michael Barton, “Distribution”, in Show Me the Money: Where Did All the Aid and Money Go after Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines November 2013, Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 5:During normal times, distribution of goods or services to over 7,000 islands [in the Philippines] is difficult, and the reality is that on a day-to-day basis, it's shambolic. There are too many examples of corruption and inefficiency.
** 2020 May 6, Sir Michael Holden, “Time for our industry's leaders to rise to the challenge”, in Rail, page 28:New train introduction had become shambolic with extended delays - mainly due to repeated software issues, seriously late deliveries, and gauging problems.
** 2020 September 28, New York Times Editorial Board, “The Picture of a Broken Tax System”, in New York Times‎:Donald Trump’s tax returns illustrate the profound inequities of the tax code and the shambolic state of federal enforcement.

#### Derived terms

* shambolically
* shambolism

#### Related terms

* omnishambles
* sham
* shambles

#### Translations
### Further reading

* “shambolic”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
* “shambolic”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

### Anagrams

* choliambs