Spotlight – September 2019

LOST IN TRANSLATION 9/2019 Spotlight 53

LOST IN TRANSLATION

VANESSA CLARK turns her attention to a

particularly interesting word or expression that

could be a challenge to translate.

ADVANCED

Usage
A “shambles” is a situation of chaos, disorder and confusion. As
well as political chaos, it can describe travel chaos, a disastrous
performance by a football team or anything else that has gone
badly wrong.
If you describe a situation as “a shambles”, or use the adjective
“shambolic”, you are suggesting that someone is at fault. It isn’t
a natural disaster. It’s the result of poor organization, probably
made worse by a lack of communication.
Common collocations are: “a complete shambles”, “a total
shambles”, “an utter shambles”, etc. The ultimate shambles is
“an omnishambles” — a word invented by the writers of the
British satirical political TV show The Thick of It. In German,
“a shambles” could be Chaos, Tohuwabohu or — if it’s really bad —
a Scherbenhaufen.

Background

In the Middle Ages, a “shambles” was a place to buy meat, such

as a meat market, butcher’s shop or slaughterhouse. The word

comes from “flesh shambles”, from the Anglo-Saxon Flesch­

ammels (literally “flesh shelves”), the shelves or tables where

butchers displayed their meat for sale.

The word “shambles” still exists in some English cities in old

street names. York’s historic Shambles, for example, is a pictur-

esque road with timber-framed buildings dating back to the 14th

century. Historically, it had many butcher’s shops, though none

remains today. Manchester also has a Shambles Square, known

for its old pubs and hotels.

Example

“I knew Brexit would be a shambles, but I never

could have expected this mess.”

Christopher Brooker, The Daily

Telegraph, 3 March 2019

The journalist is saying how the

Brexit process has thrown the UK

government and the country into

total chaos.

literally
[)lIt&rEli]
, wörtlich

omnishambles
[(QmnI)SÄmb&lz] ifml.
, ein totaler Scherben-
haufen

picturesque

[)pIktSE(resk]

, malerisch

slaughterhouse

[(slO:tEhaUs]

, Schlachthaus

timber-framed

[(tImbE freImd]

, Fachwerk-

utter [(VtE]

, völlig, heillos

Answer: B

A

noun (SÄmb&lz ifml.

shambles

Exercise

In which of the following contexts would “shambles”

make sense?

A. “The conference was really well organized, and there

was lots of positive feedback. It was a complete

.”

B. “The conference was so badly organized that most of

the guest speakers walked out. It was a complete

.”