pell-mell
\ PEL-MEL \,adverb;
1.in a confused or jumbled mass, crowd, manner, etc.: The crowd rushed pell-mell into the store when the doors opened .
2.in disorderly, headlong haste; in a recklessly hurried manner.
adjective:
1.indiscriminate; disorderly; confused: a pell-mell dash after someone .
2.overhasty or precipitate; rash: pell-mell spending .
noun:
1.a confused or jumbled mass, crowd, etc.
2.disorderly, headlong haste.
Quotes:
But they erode already thin profit margins in developing-world factories and foster a pell-mell work environment in which getting the order out the door is the only thing that matters.
-- James Surowiecki, "After Rana Plaza," The New Yorker , May 20, 2013
Her voice grew huskier, the words rushing out of her mouth pell-mell .
-- Henry Miller, "Quiet Days in Clichy ," 1956
Origin:
Pell-mell is a variation on the French term pesle mesle , which is derived from the French verb mesler , "to mix." It entered English in the late 1500s.
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