helter-skelter/

[vil]

Dear teachers,

Would you been kind enough to share with mr your opinion concerning the mentioned below interpretation of the expression in bold in the following sentences?

One engineer rightly wondered why he and his colleagues weredebating all that at the last minute, on the day before re-entry, underscoring NASA’s helterskelter approach to assessing risk.

helterskelter = bustle, turmoil, confusion

adj. confused and hurried; haphazard; flighty, scatterbrained

A wisteria vine running helter-skelter across the roof.

Helter-skelter have I rode to thee. --Shak.

helter-skelter = hurry and confusion; without definite purpose; irregularly.

The batted ball broke Mr. Jhones's window, and the boys ran away helter-skelter.

When the bell rang, the pupils ran helter-skelter out of the door.

The movers piled the furniture helter-skelter in the living room of the new house.

Mary fell down and her books, papers, and lunch landed helter-skelter over the sidewalk.

Thanks for your efforts.

Regards,

V.

[Tdol]

I associate helter-skelter with movement, so the wisteria example sounds a bit like Day of the Triffids.

[vil]

In my humble opinion the sentence in question is a very likely sentence. You may consult yourself for information to Wells' works.

Regards,

V.