shambles
n. plural-onlyn. a state of total mess or confusion. You use it to describe a situation where nothing is working correctly or everything is disorganized.
n. a state of total disorder or chaos. Often used in the singular with 'a' or 'in a' to describe a situation, organization, or physical space.
The meeting was a complete shambles because nobody was prepared.
After the sudden power outage, the airport operations fell into a shambles, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.
The government's initial response to the economic crisis was a total shambles, characterized by conflicting statements and a lack of clear leadership.
From Middle English schamels, plural of schamel, from Old English sċeamol, sċamul (“bench, stool”), from Proto-West Germanic skamul, skamil (“stool, bench”), from Vulgar Latin scamellum, from Latin scamillum (“little bench, ridge”), from Latin scamnum (“bench, ridge, breadth of a field”).
Plural in form but functions as a singular noun; typically follows 'a' or 'in a'.
The room was a shamble.The room was a shambles.The word is a pluralia tantum in this sense; it must retain the 's' even when used with the singular article 'a'.