Shambles
SHAM-bulz /ˈʃæmbəlz/
Informal Neutral
What it really means
A total mess or something very badly organised. "The whole event was a shambles" = it was chaos. "Shambolic" is the adjective.
Chinese explanation
一团糟、组织混乱的事情。The whole event was a shambles 意思是整个活动乱成一锅粥。形容词是 shambolic。
Example conversation
A: How was the enrolment session?
B: An absolute shambles. Two-hour queue and the system crashed.
A：注册报到怎么样？
B：彻底乱套了。排了两小时队，系统还崩了。
All British Slang
Reviewed by the UK Decoded editorial team
· Last checked 24 July 2026 · Report a mistake